Investing.com – Gold futures rallied to a new all-time high on Wednesday, amid ongoing worries over the euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis, while investors awaited a congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery traded at USD1,579.95 a troy ounce during U.S. morning trade, climbing 0.73%.
It earlier rose as much as 0.82% to trade at a record high USD1,581.15 a troy ounce, eclipsing the previous record of USD1,577.15 a troy ounce it reached on May 2.
Euro-denominated gold rose to a record high of EUR1,123.85 a troy ounce for the third consecutive session, on track for a 10% gain in the last two weeks
Fed chair Bernanke was to give testimony before Congress and was likely to be asked why the central bank’s current stimulus measures have not been more effective in reducing unemployment.
His appearance comes a day after minutes of the Fed’s June policy-setting meeting showed that some policymakers believe further stimulus measures may be needed if the U.S. recovery remains sluggish or if inflation eases.
Wall Street investment bank Merrill Lynch said in a report earlier that, “There will be focus on whether Mr. Bernanke strikes a more dovish tone in terms of the prospect for further easing if the economy does not recover."
When the Fed announced the second round of quantitative easing, known as the QE2, in November last year, gold prices rose to record highs for four consecutive sessions.
Meanwhile, lingering concerns over sovereign debt contagion in the euro zone continued to underpin safe-haven demand for the precious metal.
Irish bond yields surged to euro-lifetime highs earlier, after Ireland became the third euro zone member, after Greece and Portugal, to have its sovereign debt rating cut to junk status, following a downgrade by ratings agency Moody’s on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, silver for September delivery surged 3.5% to trade at a five-week high of USD37.37 a troy ounce, as investors sought a cheaper alternative to gold.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery traded at USD1,579.95 a troy ounce during U.S. morning trade, climbing 0.73%.
It earlier rose as much as 0.82% to trade at a record high USD1,581.15 a troy ounce, eclipsing the previous record of USD1,577.15 a troy ounce it reached on May 2.
Euro-denominated gold rose to a record high of EUR1,123.85 a troy ounce for the third consecutive session, on track for a 10% gain in the last two weeks
Fed chair Bernanke was to give testimony before Congress and was likely to be asked why the central bank’s current stimulus measures have not been more effective in reducing unemployment.
His appearance comes a day after minutes of the Fed’s June policy-setting meeting showed that some policymakers believe further stimulus measures may be needed if the U.S. recovery remains sluggish or if inflation eases.
Wall Street investment bank Merrill Lynch said in a report earlier that, “There will be focus on whether Mr. Bernanke strikes a more dovish tone in terms of the prospect for further easing if the economy does not recover."
When the Fed announced the second round of quantitative easing, known as the QE2, in November last year, gold prices rose to record highs for four consecutive sessions.
Meanwhile, lingering concerns over sovereign debt contagion in the euro zone continued to underpin safe-haven demand for the precious metal.
Irish bond yields surged to euro-lifetime highs earlier, after Ireland became the third euro zone member, after Greece and Portugal, to have its sovereign debt rating cut to junk status, following a downgrade by ratings agency Moody’s on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, silver for September delivery surged 3.5% to trade at a five-week high of USD37.37 a troy ounce, as investors sought a cheaper alternative to gold.