Gold steady after jumping to near record on rate-cut speculation

Gold steadied in Asia after surging to near a record high in the previous session on indications the Federal Reserve is moving closer to cutting interest rates.

Gold jumped 1.5% on Monday and touched an intraday high of $2,115.92 an ounce. That’s within sight of the all-time peak of $2,135.39 set on Dec. 4 last year.

After trading in a fairly narrow range at the beginning of the year, bullion resumed rallying in the middle of February. Although the timing of when the Fed will pivot is still unclear, signs that it’s getting closer have supported gold in recent weeks. Swaps markets show an almost 60% chance of a rate cut in June. Lower borrowing costs are typically positive for the precious metal, which doesn’t offer any interest.