Dec 23 (Reuters) – Gold jumped to a record high on Tuesday, after investors rushed to the yellow metal often considered a safe-haven asset, as the U.S. tried seizing more tankers carrying Venezuelan oil, while silver was also up near all-time highs.
* Spot gold rose 0.5% to $4,467.66 per ounce by 0041 GMT, after hitting another record high at $4,469.52 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures for February delivery added 0.74% to $4,502.30 per ounce.
* Spot silver rose 0.19% to $69.15/oz. It reached an all-time high of $69.44 on Monday.
* Gold, a traditional safe-haven asset, is up 70% for the year, having crossed the $4,400 mark for the first time on Monday, driven by geopolitical and trade tensions, robust central bank buying, and hopes of lower U.S. interest rates next year.
* Silver has gained 140% year-to-date, far outpacing gold, and reached just shy of the $70-mark in the previous session.
* The U.S. Coast Guard this month seized a supertanker under sanctions carrying Venezuelan oil and tried to intercept two more Venezuela-related ships over the weekend, U.S. authorities said. One of them is an empty ship under U.S. sanctions, and the other is an unsanctioned, fully loaded tanker bound for China.
* Traders are still pricing in two interest rate cuts by the U.S. Fedeeral Reserve next year.
* Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who is in the running to be chosen as Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s successor, said last week that the Fed still had more room to cut rates.
* Non-yielding assets such as gold tend to do well in a low-interest-rate environment.
* The U.S. dollar was down near one-week lows against a basket of other major currencies, making dollar-priced bullion more affordable for overseas buyers.
* Spot platinum rose 1.1% to $2,143.70 per ounce, a 17-1/2 year high, while palladium rose 1.42% to $1,784.30 per ounce, a near three-year high. (Reporting by Ishaan Arora; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
