Title: Gold Prices Reach Record Highs

Gold prices soared to an all-time high above $2,100 per ounce on Monday, as comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell boosted traders' confidence that the U.S. central bank may cut interest rates early next year. A decline in interest rates reduces the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding yellow metal. By 05:30 GMT, the spot price of gold rose 0.8% to $2,087.69 per ounce. Earlier in the session, gold climbed to an all-time high of $2,111.39. U.S. gold futures also increased by about 1% to $2,107.50. Tim Wasser, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, stated, "After his speech (Powell), traders are more convinced that we are currently at the peak of U.S. interest rates, and therefore the next move is likely to be downward rather than upward." Powell said on Friday that the Federal Reserve is not considering cutting interest rates at the moment. Regarding other precious metals, silver in spot transactions increased by 0.1% to $25.45 per ounce, palladium dropped by 0.5% to $929.10 per ounce, and platinum fell by 0.4% to $996.04.