Gold shoots to seven-year peak on weaker dollar

LONDON —  Gold struck a seven-year pinnacle above $1,700 an ounce on Tuesday as massive Fed stimulus floods markets with dollars, weakening the greenback and sending investors running to the precious metal, analysts said.

      Just after 12:30 GMT, gold rallied to $1,731.25 an ounce on the London Bullion Market, striking a peak last seen in November 2012.

      The dollar slid against main rivals on Tuesday in the wake of the Federal Reserve's ongoing stimulus policies that are aimed at cushioning the blow to the world's biggest economy from the deadly COVID-19 outbreak.

      This has made dollar-denominated commodities like gold cheaper for buyers holding rival currencies.

      "Gold has been staging an impressive rally," said Jasper Lawler, head of research at traders London Capital Group.

      "For us, the common denominator is the... new programmes introduced by the Federal Reserve.

      "More dollars swirling around in the system have devalued the dollar."

      ActivTrades chief analyst Carlo Alberto De Casa said gold was buoyed purely by the US central bank's stimulus rather than investors shunning risky assets -- with gold traditionally seen as a haven investment in times of economic unrest.

      "Gold is skyrocketing... (but) this new rally is not related to a swift return of risk-off, but instead driven by the huge increase of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet," he said.