Gold prices continued their record streak on Wednesday as investors sought the safe haven asset amid growing concerns about the U.S.-China trade war and its potential impact on economic growth.
Spot gold was up 0.8% at $2,864 an ounce at 09:24 am ET (1424 GMT), after hitting an all-time high of $2,877 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures gained 0.4% to $2,885.90 an ounce.
"Gold continues to be heavily influenced by trade uncertainties...tariffs with China and retaliations have the market nervous, so flows into safe haven assets remain the dominant factor," said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals.
Earlier this week, China retaliated by imposing tariffs on U.S. goods in response to new U.S. tariffs, escalating the trade war, while President Trump expressed no urgency in speaking with President Xi Jinping to ease tensions.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Postal Service said it will resume accepting all incoming mail and packages from China and Hong Kong on Wednesday, a day after temporarily suspending that service.
Three U.S. Federal Reserve officials warned that Trump's trade tariffs could boost inflation, with one suggesting that uncertainty about the outlook for prices warrants slower interest rate cuts.
The ADP (Automatic Data Processing, Inc.) national employment report showed that the U.S. economy added 183,000 private-sector jobs last month, compared with economists' estimate of a 150,000 increase.
"Employment will be a major focus this week ... but I don't think anything is going to materially impact the Fed's expectations for policy unless it's really out of whack," Grant's said.
Investors await Friday's U.S. jobs report for more clues on the outlook for interest rates. Gold is seen as a hedge against inflation, but higher interest rates could reduce its appeal, as the metal does not earn interest.
Spot silver rose 0.4% to $32.23 an ounce, platinum gained 1.6% to $979.40 and palladium added 0.4% to $994.75.
Daksh Grover, Reuters