(Bloomberg) -- Gold steadied, after hitting a record high in the previous session, as traders digested differing views from Federal Reserve officials on the path forward for US interest rates.
Bullion traded near $2,720 an ounce after rising as much as 0.7% on Monday before closing slightly lower. Fed Bank of Kansas City President Jeffrey Schmid said he favors a slower pace of reductions, while his San Francisco counterpart Mary Daly reiterated her view on the need to deploy additional cuts to guard against labor market deterioration.
The precious metal has surged by almost a third this year, hitting successive all-time highs, with the rally intensifying in the last couple of months as the Fed pivoted to cutting interest rates. The worsening conflict in the Middle East and a tight US election that’s only a couple of weeks away are also fueling haven demand.
Money managers have increased net-long positions in gold in recent sessions, while investors have also been adding to exchange-traded fund holdings.
Spot gold rose 0.1% to $2,722.95 an ounce as of 8:06 a.m. in Singapore after touching a record of $2,740.59 on Monday. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was steady after rising 0.4% in the previous session. Silver and palladium edged higher, while platinum was slightly lower.
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