Proactive Investors - 7.27am: Gold passes $2,750 for first time
Gold breached the US$2,750 mark for the first time on Wednesday morning, continuing a record-breaking run which has seen the yellow metal repeatedly hit new highs this week.
Having climbed as high as US$2,753 earlier on, spot gold was trading at US$2,752 on Wednesday morning for a 0.66% daily gain.
Tensions in the Middle East, uncertainty around next month’s US election and further looming cuts to interest rates globally have buoyed the yellow metal most recently.
This is despite strengthening by the dollar over the week so far and increasing bond yields, which had risen to 4.23% for US 10-year treasuries come Wednesday morning.
“Non-gold friendly developments are being offset by haven bids and the ‘risk’ of a Republican win in the upcoming elections,” Saxo Strategy analysts commented.
This has stoked “concerns about looser fiscal policy, which may deepen the deficit and rekindle inflation”.
7.13am: FTSE 100 seen lower again
Futures had the FTSE 100 falling by 12 points to 8,335 on Wednesday morning, placing London’s blue chips on course for a third day of declines.
Fresnillo PLC (LSE:LON:FRES) and miners have so far enjoyed gains over the week in spite of wider falls on the index as gold and silver prices have been boosted as attention turns to next month’s presidential election in the US.
Gold continued its record-breaking streak into Wednesday, topping the US$2,750 an ounce mark for the first time, while silver gained a further 1.5% to reach US$34.74.
Overnight, Asian markets largely climbed, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index adding 1.2% as Japan’s Nikkei was among the few to fall.
Back in London, attention on Wednesday turns to trading updates from the likes of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LON:LLOY) and Reckitt Benckiser (LON:RKT) Group PLC (LSE:RKT, ETR:3RB).