Gold futures surged 4.4% overnight to close at $4,523 an ounce, their highest settlement in nearly three months, before easing slightly in Asian trading on Thursday. The metal held above the psychologically significant $4,500 level despite profit-taking, trading near its highest level since early June.
The rally, the largest overnight gain in gold since late May, was driven by a sharp decline in the U.S. dollar and falling long-term Treasury yields. The moves followed the U.S. Treasury’s announcement that it would at least double the size of its bond buyback operations for longer-dated securities, increasing allocations in the 10- to 20-year and 20- to 30-year sectors to at least $4 billion from a prior cap of $2 billion.
Additional support for gold came amid growing concerns over the U.S. fiscal position after the national debt surpassed $40 trillion. Investors sought assets traditionally viewed as safe havens, reinforcing gold’s appeal as a store of value during periods of elevated uncertainty.
The surge in bullion prices lifted shares of gold miners across Asia and Australia. In Hong Kong, Zijin Gold International led gains with a 15.90% advance, followed by Zhaojin Mining at 8.57%, Shandong Gold at 8.12%, Lingbao Gold at 8.08%, Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining at 6.19%, and Zijin Mining at 6.42%. Australian-listed miners also posted strong gains, with Ramelius Resources up 11.17%, Genesis Minerals rising 10.88%, Regis Resources gaining 10.78%, Perseus Mining advancing 10.12%, Evolution Mining up 10.05%, Westgold Resources climbing 8.65%, and Northern Star Resources adding 5.92%. Newmont rose 7.10%, while Sumitomo Metal Mining in Tokyo jumped 10.45%.
Technical resistance levels were breached during the rally, with gold piercing the 200-day moving average near $4,509 and overcoming downtrend resistance around $4,430. The metal also cleared last week’s high of $4,449, reinforcing the upward momentum.
