Middle East situation triggers safe-haven demand, gold breaks through $2400 approaching historical highs

According to the Wisdom Financial APP, boosted by safe-haven demand, gold futures surged on Tuesday. Prior to this, the Israeli military launched an airstrike on the Lebanese capital Beirut, targeting a senior Hezbollah commander in response to the rocket attacks on the Golan Heights over the weekend. Comex gold futures for the near month closed up 1.1% at $2405.00 per ounce, nearing the closing high of $2462.40 per ounce touched on July 16, while silver futures for the near month closed up 2.4% at $28.365 per ounce. Gold prices fluctuated earlier as traders focused on U.S. economic data and awaited policy announcements from central banks including the Federal Reserve in the coming days. The Federal Reserve is set to announce its interest rate decision on Wednesday Eastern Time, with market expectations that the Fed will keep rates unchanged but may signal a rate cut as early as September. Phillip Streible, Chief Market Strategist at Blue Line Futures, said, "More cracks are appearing in the European economy, they are likely to cut rates in September, and the U.S. is also expected to cut rates, which supports the gold market." Data shows that due to improving economic prospects, U.S. consumer confidence in July rose more than expected. U.S. job openings in June fell slightly, with revisions to May data showing that the labor market continues to show resilience. The World Gold Council stated that for the remainder of the year, the long-awaited rate cuts in the U.S. and renewed interest from Western investors are expected to support gold prices. The Council's report indicated that gold demand in the second quarter increased by 4% year-on-year to 1258 tons, marking the best second quarter performance since 2000. The World Gold Council mentioned that central banks around the world increased their gold holdings to 184 tons, a slower pace compared to the first quarter but still a 6% year-on-year increase, with off-exchange trading rising by 53% to 329 tons. The total holdings of gold ETFs slightly decreased to 3105 tons, with declines in holdings in Europe and North America. The World Gold Council stated: "With ample fundamental support, we believe that gold prices can maintain or slowly rise from current levels in the second half of the year."