Gold hits record high and bitcoin breaks $42,000; UK inflation ‘highest for households with mortgages’ – business live | Business

Hello and welcome to our rolling coverage of Business, the financial markets, and the world economy. Gold has reached a new high for the second consecutive session as investors turn to this traditional safe haven asset amidst hopes for potential future interest rate cuts. The gold price has surpassed $2,111.39 per ounce, topping the previous record set in August 2020. Investors have been encouraged by the possibility that the cycle of interest rate increases may have concluded and that central banks will shift their focus to reducing borrowing costs in 2024. This has resulted in a weaker US dollar, consequently increasing the price of gold. The rise in gold price began in October and has steadily increased from $1,820 per ounce. Additionally, bitcoin has reached an impressive $40,000 for the first time this year, and traders are betting that the US Federal Reserve may initiate cuts to US interest rates next spring. Financial experts suggest this surge is linked to the possibility of rate cuts by the Fed in the coming year, favouring assets like gold and bitcoin. The UK economy will also be in focus today as the Resolution Foundation thinktank holds a full-day event examining the country’s economic strategy. Markets will also be watching speeches by Christine Lagarde, as well as important trade and factory order statistics from the UK and US. In other Business news, Europe’s most toxic nuclear site, Sellafield, has undergone hacking attempts by cyber groups linked to Russia and China, potentially compromising sensitive activities at the nuclear wast and decommissioning site. Former Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane has called for the Treasury to be divided into two parts, and bitcoin has climbed to over $42,000, signaling a potential end to the crypto winter. Lloyds Bank has reported that it has received the £1.2bn owed to it by the Barclay family. This has enabled them to remove themselves from further involvement in determining the ownership of the Telegraph group.