WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold hovered near record levels on Thursday after a handful of Federal Reserve officials left the door open to another large rate cut.
An escalation of the conflict in the Middle East and a weaker dollar also made bullion more attractive to investors.
Spot gold rose 0.4 percent to $2,668.48 per ounce, trading just below its record high of $2,670 recorded on Wednesday. U.S. gold futures were up 0.2 percent at $2,691.
The dollar edged lower in European trade as investors await speeches from key Federal Reserve policymakers as well as the release of jobless claims figures and the final reading of the second quarter GDP for additional clues on the health of the economy and the pace of interest rate cuts.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, the chances of a jumbo 50-bps cut in November currently remain above 60 percent.
Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kuglar said during her overnight appearance that she 'strongly supported' last week's 50-bps rate cut and 'will support additional rate cuts going forward.'
Earlier today, the Swiss National Bank reduced its key policy rate by 25 basis points for the third straight meeting and signaled that further cuts in the SNB policy rate may become necessary in the coming quarters to ensure price stability over the medium term.
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