Gold settles higher on US monetary easing bets

Gold bars

Gold prices closed higher on Monday, supported by expectations that the US Federal Reserve will resume interest rate cuts this month amid signs of a cooling labor market.

December gold futures rose 0.66%, or $24.1, to $3,677.4 an ounce at settlement, after touching an all-time high of $3,685.7 earlier in the session.

The gains came ahead of the Fed’s two-day policy meeting on Sept. 16–17, where policymakers are widely expected to cut benchmark rates from the current range of 4.25%–4.50%.

Expectations of renewed monetary easing strengthened after last week’s jobs report showed US hiring slowed sharply in August, with unemployment climbing to a four-year high.

Investors this week await the release of US producer and consumer price data, with CPI expected to rise 2.9% year-on-year in August after a 2.7% increase in July.