Oct 7 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose to an all-time high
on Tuesday, extending gains to a third session on U.S. economic
and political uncertainties and expectations of further interest
rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold held its ground at $3,961.64 per ounce,
as of 0055 GMT, after hitting a fresh high of $3,977.19 earlier
in the session.
* U.S. gold futures for December delivery gained
0.2% to $3,985.50.
* The White House on Monday backed off President Donald
Trump's assertion that government employees were already being
laid off due to the shutdown, but warned job losses could result
as the standoff looked set to stretch into a seventh day.
* Kansas City Fed Bank President Jeff Schmid signaled he is
disinclined to cut interest rates further, arguing that as the
Fed navigates between the twin risks of overly tight and overly
easy policy, it should stay focused on the danger of too-high
inflation.
* However, markets are pricing in additional 25-basis-point
rate cuts in both October and December, with probabilities of
95% and 83%, respectively, according to the CME FedWatch tool
* Non-yielding gold thrives in a low-interest-rate
environment and during economic uncertainties.
* Gold has climbed 51% so far this year on strong central
bank buying, increased demand for gold-backed Exchange-Traded
Fund (ETFs), a weaker dollar and growing interest from retail
investors seeking a hedge amid rising trade and geopolitical
tensions.
* SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.17% to 1,013.16
metric tons on Monday from 1,014.88 tons on Friday.
* Elsewhere, spot silver eased 0.4% to $48.32 per
ounce, platinum fell 0.8% to $1,612.85 and palladium
lost 0.3% to $1,315.86.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0600 Germany Industrial Orders MM, Consumer Goods SA Aug
0600 Germany Manufacturing O/P Cur Price SA Aug
0600 UK Halifax House Prices MM,YY Sep
0645 France Reserve Assets Total Sep
1230 US International Trade $ Aug
(Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu
Sahu)
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