Gold Holds Steady Above $4,500 as US Debt Tops $40 Trillion
Spot gold prices held steady above $4,500 per ounce on Thursday, following a strong rally in the previous session that saw gains of 4.1%. The metal had topped the $4,500 mark for the first time since early June.
The advance was capped by a short-lived rally in U.S. Treasury bonds and rising oil prices. At 15:34 ET (19:34 GMT), spot gold was trading at $4,523.95/oz, just above the flatline.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on Wednesday that it would increase the size of repurchases of long-dated government debt to at least $4 billion from $2 billion, sparking a rally in bonds and sending yields sliding.
However, traders resumed selling bonds on Thursday, with the 30-year yield last up 3.8 basis points to 5.232%. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that there were 'many underlying factors that the market' was not looking at.
Morgan Stanley analysts said bullion had hit its Q4 target sooner than expected and could surpass $5,000/oz next year, citing recent decoupling from long-term real yields and revived exchange-traded fund demand.