(MENAFN- The Rio Times) Gold is starting December pinned near 4,240 dollars an ounce, just below its recent record and at the top of a relentless year-long climb.

In thin Asian trade overnight, prices briefly touched a six-week high before easing as traders locked in profits, while futures in New York hovered around 4,270 dollars.

A soft dollar, wobbling equity markets and a sharp sell-off in cryptocurrencies have all channelled nervous money back into the oldest safe asset.

The last week has been defined by a sudden surge in confidence that the US Federal Reserve will cut rates in December. A run of weaker data and unusually dovish comments from key Fed officials pushed market-implied odds for a cut into the high-80s percent range.

Lower real yields slash the opportunity cost of holding bullion, especially when a recent US government shutdown, swelling deficits and talk of new spending plans fuel doubts about the long-term value of paper money.



For investors wary of ever-expanding states and debt piles, gold once again offers a simple, apolitical hedge. Across major trading centres the picture is consistent.

COMEX volumes spiked on the mid-week breakout, and global gold ETFs have notched five straight months of net inflows, led by North American and Asian funds.

In London's over-the-counter market, daily turnover has jumped, while Shanghai benchmark prices in renminbi sit just under record highs despite Beijing's move to trim tax breaks on some retail products.

India's futures market and Vietnam's retailers are also quoting near-record local prices, even as high levels discourage jewellery demand on the ground.

Technically, the metal remains in a powerful uptrend. Weekly charts show prices riding the top of their Bollinger band with momentum still positive, but an overbought relative-strength index warns that the move is maturing.

On the daily chart, gold has broken out of a month-long consolidation between 4,000 and 4,200 dollars, with momentum turning higher again and key support now clustered around 4,140–4,180.

Shorter-term four-hour charts look stretched into resistance near 4,250, suggesting a pullback or sideways pause is more likely than an immediate collapse.

For now, the combination of looser-money expectations, concern over fiscal discipline and ongoing central-bank buying keeps the bullish story intact.

The real test will come if policymakers surprise with a harder line-or if markets decide that promises of easy money and bigger government have gone too far even for gold.

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