08/16/2024 – 14:33
The price of gold, an asset considered safe, hit a historic record this Friday (16), surpassing 2,500 dollars (around R$ 13.7 thousand) per ounce, due to the prospect of a cut in interest rates in the United States and global geopolitical risks.
At around 11 am in Brasília, the ounce of the yellow metal was trading up 1.24%, to 2,487.50 dollars (around R$ 13.6 thousand), after having reached an all-time high of 2,500.16 dollars. The previous record was set in mid-July.
The price of gold was boosted by the publication of data showing the low dynamism of the new housing construction sector in the United States in July, a new negative signal for the country’s economy.
Faced with fears of a recession in the world’s largest economy, markets have reinforced their expectations of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed), the American central bank.
“The sharp decline in bond yields” and the dollar, “against expectations of Fed rate cuts, is benefiting assets with zero or low yields,” such as gold, explains Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at City Index.
Furthermore, gold continues to be “sought after as a ‘safe haven asset’ in a tense geopolitical context,” highlights Carsten Fritsch, an analyst at Commerzbank.
In the Middle East, the international community is stepping up diplomatic efforts to reach a truce in the Gaza Strip after ten months of war between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas.
The talks also aim to avoid a regional conflict, following threats against Israel by Iran, which has vowed to avenge the death of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in an attack attributed to the Israelis on July 31 in Tehran.
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