Gold rates increased more than 1% to strike a record high on Thursday, assisted by expectations of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week after U.S. information indicated a slowing down of the economy.
Spot gold was up 1.6% at $2,551.19 per ounce, as of 9:46 a.m. ET (1346 GMT) while U.S. gold futures were up 1.4% at $2,578.90.
The U.S. Labor Department stated initial claims for state welfare rose 2,000 to a seasonally changed 230,000.
U.S. producer rates increased slightly more than expected in August amid higher costs for services, but the pattern stayed consistent with decreasing inflation.
We are headed towards a lower interest rate environment so gold is ending up being a lot more attractive ... I believe we might potentially have a lot more frequent cuts rather than a larger magnitude, said Alex Ebkarian, chief operating officer at Loyalty Gold.
Markets are currently pricing in an 87% chance of a. 25-basis-point U.S. rate cut at the Fed's Sept. 17-18 meeting,. and a 13% chance of a 50-bps cut, the CME FedWatch tool showed.
