Gold rises more than 1% on Fed rate-cut bets, slowdown worries

Gold prices rose more than 1% on Monday, buoyed by expectations of another Federal Reserve interest rate cut in December and a slew of weak economic data that raised global slowdown worries. Spot gold gained 1.4% to $4,053.40 per ounce by 0435 GMT. US gold futures for December delivery rose 1.3% to $4,062.40 per ounce. “Gold is catching a solid bid from traders to kick off the week, with the precious metal rising on anticipation that a rate cut could still arrive next month, even though the Fed has been downplaying the chances of it occurring,” KCM Trade Chief Market Analyst Tim Waterer said. The US economy shed jobs in October amid losses in the government and retail sectors, while cost-cutting and artificial intelligence adoption by businesses led to a surge in announced layoffs, data showed last week.