Gold vaults to record high as US-Venezuela tensions flare

Gold jumped to a record high on Tuesday, after investors ‍rushed to the yellow metal often considered a safe-haven asset, as the U.S. tried ⁠seizing more tankers carrying Venezuelan oil, while silver was also up near all-time highs.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold rose 0.5% to $4,467.66 per ounce by 0041 GMT, after hitting another record ‌high at $4,469.52 ‌earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures for February delivery added 0.74% to $4,502.30 per ounce.


* Spot ‌silver rose 0.19% to $69.15/oz. It reached an all-time high of $69.44 on Monday.

* Gold, a traditional safe-haven asset, is up 70% for the year, having crossed the $4,400 mark for the first time on Monday, driven by geopolitical and trade tensions, robust central bank buying, and hopes of lower U.S. interest rates next year.

* Silver has gained 140% ‌year-to-date, far ‍outpacing gold, and reached just shy of the $70-mark in ‍the previous session.

* The U.S. Coast Guard this month ‌seized a supertanker under sanctions carrying Venezuelan oil and tried to intercept two more Venezuela-related ships over the weekend, U.S. authorities said. One of them is an empty ship under U.S. sanctions, and the other is an unsanctioned, fully loaded tanker bound for China.

* Traders are still pricing in two interest rate cuts ‍by the U.S. Fedeeral Reserve next year.

* Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who is in the running to be chosen as ‍Fed Chair ⁠Jerome Powell's successor, ⁠said last week that the Fed still had more room to cut rates.

* Non-yielding assets such as gold tend to do well in a low-interest-rate environment.

* The U.S. dollar was down near one-week lows against a basket of other major currencies, making dollar-priced bullion more affordable for overseas buyers.

* Spot platinum rose 1.1% to $2,143.70 per ounce, a 17-1/2 year high, while palladium rose 1.42% to $1,784.30 per ounce, a near three-year high.