As steady as a rock! Spot gold has risen for six consecutive days, breaking through $3,540, setting a new historical high

Zhitong Finance APP noted that gold has continued its upward trend for six consecutive days, setting a new historical high. The increased attractiveness of gold due to the enhanced prospects of U.S. interest rate cuts, combined with sell-offs in the stock and bond markets prompting traders to seek safe havens, has led to a sustained rise in demand for precious metals.

On Wednesday, when the Asian market opened, the spot gold price rose by 0.4% to $3,546.96 per ounce, slightly above the historical high set on Tuesday. Over the past six trading days, gold prices have cumulatively risen by 5%, supported by renewed concerns about the Federal Reserve's future policies and increased safe-haven demand triggered by budget issues in developed countries.

Since the beginning of this year, gold has risen by more than one-third, becoming one of the best-performing major commodities. The recent upward momentum is driven by market expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this month—previously, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell had cautiously opened the door for rate cuts. The key U.S. employment report to be released this Friday is likely to further show a weakening labor market, providing more justification for rate cuts. A low-interest-rate environment typically benefits the performance of non-yielding assets like gold.

Over the past three years, both gold and silver prices have more than doubled. The increasing risks in geopolitics, economics, and global trade have driven demand for these traditional safe-haven assets.

This year, President Trump has escalated his criticism of the Federal Reserve, intensifying market concerns about the threat to central bank independence.

The market is awaiting a landmark ruling to determine whether Trump has legitimate grounds to dismiss Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. If this action is deemed legal, the president could appoint a more dovish official to replace her.

Investors also expect the White House to announce the nomination for the next Federal Reserve Chair before Powell steps down in May. Treasury Secretary Scott Basset will begin interviewing candidates on Friday.

On the other hand, Trump stated that his administration would request the Supreme Court to expedite a ruling to overturn federal court decisions regarding the illegal imposition of several tariffs. This legal setback has increased uncertainty for U.S. importers and may delay the economic benefits promised by the government.

Silver has even outperformed gold this year. So far, silver has risen by about 40%, with prices breaking the $40 per ounce mark for the first time since 2011 on Monday.

Silver is valued for its industrial uses in clean energy technologies such as solar panels. According to the Silver Institute, the silver market is expected to face a supply shortage for the fifth consecutive year in this context.

Investors have been pouring into silver-backed ETFs, with holdings increasing for the seventh consecutive month in August. This has led to a continuous decrease in the freely available silver inventory in the London market, resulting in long-term supply tightness in the market The leasing rate (reflecting the cost of typically short-term borrowing of metals) remains high at around 2%, far above the normal level close to zero.

As of the time of writing, spot gold is up 0.2% to $3,540.69 per ounce, having risen 1.6% on Tuesday. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index is up 0.1%, following a 0.5% increase in the previous trading session. Silver is down 0.1% to $40.848 per ounce, while platinum and palladium have risen