Investing.com – Gold futures rallied to a fresh record high on Monday, as a lack of progress over raising the U.S. debt ceiling ahead of a looming deadline raised fears over a possible U.S. sovereign debt default, boosting demand for safe haven assets.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery traded at USD1,619.45 a troy ounce during late Asian trade, jumping 1.05%.
It earlier rose as much as 1.3% to trade at a record high USD1,625.05 a troy ounce, eclipsing the previous record high of USD1,610.70 a troy ounce it hit on July 19.
With time running out, Democrats and Republicans from the U.S. Congress split into two camps and held talks among themselves over the weekend.
House Speaker John Boehner told Republican lawmakers on a conference call Sunday evening that no "grand deal" on raising the debt ceiling was possible with President Barack Obama.
Meanwhile, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said Republican "intransigence" was "pushing us to the brink of a default on the full faith and credit of the United States."
The deadlock prompted White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley to warn that there would be a "few stressful days" ahead for financial markets, as the deadline to raise the USD14.3 trillion debt ceiling was only nine days away.
Gold is often seen as an alternative currency in times of global economic uncertainty and a refuge from financial risk.
In the euro zone, ratings agency Moody's downgraded Greece by three notches to Ca from Caa1 earlier in the day, after euro zone leaders announced a new aid package for Greece worth EUR159 billion on Thursday.
Global financial service provider HSBC said on Friday that it expected the region’s debt woes to “remain a primary catalyst for further gains in gold prices over the medium term.”
Elsewhere, silver for September delivery was up for a second day, climbing 1.5% to trade at USD40.70 a troy ounce, hovering close to a three-month high as investors sought a cheaper alternative to gold.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery traded at USD1,619.45 a troy ounce during late Asian trade, jumping 1.05%.
It earlier rose as much as 1.3% to trade at a record high USD1,625.05 a troy ounce, eclipsing the previous record high of USD1,610.70 a troy ounce it hit on July 19.
With time running out, Democrats and Republicans from the U.S. Congress split into two camps and held talks among themselves over the weekend.
House Speaker John Boehner told Republican lawmakers on a conference call Sunday evening that no "grand deal" on raising the debt ceiling was possible with President Barack Obama.
Meanwhile, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said Republican "intransigence" was "pushing us to the brink of a default on the full faith and credit of the United States."
The deadlock prompted White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley to warn that there would be a "few stressful days" ahead for financial markets, as the deadline to raise the USD14.3 trillion debt ceiling was only nine days away.
Gold is often seen as an alternative currency in times of global economic uncertainty and a refuge from financial risk.
In the euro zone, ratings agency Moody's downgraded Greece by three notches to Ca from Caa1 earlier in the day, after euro zone leaders announced a new aid package for Greece worth EUR159 billion on Thursday.
Global financial service provider HSBC said on Friday that it expected the region’s debt woes to “remain a primary catalyst for further gains in gold prices over the medium term.”
Elsewhere, silver for September delivery was up for a second day, climbing 1.5% to trade at USD40.70 a troy ounce, hovering close to a three-month high as investors sought a cheaper alternative to gold.