Gold climbs to a three-month high as investors brace for Jackson Hole
Bullion's steady August climb reflects a mix of central bank buying, bond market jitters and anticipation of the Fed chair's speech.
Gold bars at a bullion dealer
Gold prices climbed to their highest level in more than three months this week, extending a steady run higher through August as investors positioned themselves ahead of the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole symposium and a fresh round of inflation data.
December gold futures opened Tuesday just above $4,710 an ounce, building on a rally that has taken the metal from around $4,000 at the start of the month to its strongest levels since the spring. The advance has come in fits and starts, with notable jumps following the Treasury's decision to expand its bond buyback program and after minutes from the Fed's most recent policy meeting were released.
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Traders pointed to several forces reinforcing the move. Persistent geopolitical tension in the Middle East has kept a steady bid under gold as a traditional haven asset, while uncertainty over the path of interest rates has made the non-yielding metal relatively more attractive compared with bonds whose returns have been swinging along with Treasury market volatility.
Central bank buying has also provided a structural tailwind. Data from the World Gold Council showed official-sector purchases in the second quarter running well above year-earlier levels, as a number of central banks continued to diversify reserves away from a heavy concentration in the U.S. dollar.
Analysts said the timing of the latest high was no coincidence, coming just days before the Fed chair's highly anticipated Jackson Hole remarks and the release of the central bank's preferred inflation gauge. Any signal that the Fed is prepared to hold rates higher for longer, they said, could either dent gold's momentum by lifting the dollar or extend the rally further if it stokes broader market uncertainty.
Precious metals traders cautioned that gold's gains this year have already outpaced expectations set at the start of 2026, and some warned that a sharp reversal is possible if incoming data reduces the current level of economic uncertainty.