Gold jumped in early Asian trading after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by a full percentage point to near zero, pointing to another volatile week ahead for markets.
Spot bullion climbed almost 3% on Monday morning, following its worst week since 1983, as the U.S. central bank moved to cushion the U.S. economy. Prices had been hammered by a rush to raise cash to cover losses in other markets, while a stronger dollar also reduced the metal’s appeal.
The Fed announced several other actions, including letting banks borrow from the discount window for as long as 90 days and reducing reserve requirement ratios to zero percent.
Gold rose as much as 2.8% to $1,572.77 an ounce and was at $1,560.44 by 6:06 a.m. in Singapore. Silver also climbed almost 3%, while palladium tumbled more than 5% and platinum advanced 0.3%.
– Bloomberg