BENGALURU: Gold hit a record high on Tuesday, as US inflation data cemented bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts this year and persistent geopolitical and economic uncertainties drove safe-haven demand, while silver also hit a fresh peak.

Spot gold steadied at $4,591.49 per ounce as of 01:31pm ET (1831 GMT), following a record high of $4,634.33 earlier in the session. US gold futures for February settled 0.3 per cent lower at $4,599.10.

“The reason for the slightly positive tone across the board in the markets was the benign US CPI data,” said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures. The core CPI rose 0.2pc month-on-month and 2.6pc year-on-year in December, falling short of analysts’ expectations of 0.3pc and 2.7pc, respectively.

The Fed is expected to keep rates steady at its January 27-28 meeting, though investors currently anticipate two interest rate cuts this year. Lower interest rates tend to be favourable for non-yielding bullion.

Elsewhere, spot silver gained 2.1pc to $86.74 per ounce, after hitting an all-time high of $89.10 earlier in the session. Spot platinum was unchanged at $2,343.35 per ounce and palladium rose 1.4pc to $1,868.68 per ounce.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2026