On March 20th, the international gold price hit a new high. According to Wind data, the spot price of London gold hit a record high of $3057.51 per ounce during trading. As of the time of press, the London spot gold price has risen by about 15.9% this year. International gold futures prices have also hit a new high, with COMEX gold futures prices reaching $3065.2 per ounce during trading on March 20th, an increase of about 15.5% since the beginning of this year. On the news front, in the early morning of March 20th Beijing time, the Federal Reserve released its latest interest rate decision, keeping the target range of the federal funds rate unchanged at 4.25% to 4.5%, which is in line with market expectations. The Federal Reserve has kept interest rates unchanged and hinted at a rate cut this year, providing some upward momentum for gold prices. Fan Rui, the head of non-ferrous analysis at Guoyuan Futures, stated in an interview with reporters that since March 11th, gold has once again emerged from an accelerated upward trend, mainly due to the uncertainty and risk aversion in overseas markets. The fluctuation of multiple macroeconomic data in the United States, the sharp decline of the US stock market, and the intensification of the US led trade conflict have all increased market concerns about the US economy, further reducing trust in the US dollar and strengthening the market's pursuit of the attributes of gold currency. As Fan Rui stated, during the seven trading days from March 11th to March 19th, the London spot gold price rose on six trading days, with an increase of 5.48%. Bai Xue, Senior Deputy Director of the Research and Development Department of Oriental Jincheng, told reporters that last week (March 10th to March 14th), the United States once again launched tariff threats, the US European trade war escalated, and tariffs and international geopolitical risks continued to heat up market risk aversion, stimulating gold demand. In addition, the US February CPI (Consumer Price Index) and PPI (Producer Price Index) inflation data released last week both weakened across the board, leading to a cooling of inflation expectations and helping gold prices reach new highs. Where will the continuously setting new highs in gold prices go? Ding Zhenyu, Senior Investment Advisor of Shaanxi Jufeng Investment Information Co., Ltd., stated in an interview with reporters that in recent years, many central banks have responded to geopolitical risks and economic uncertainties, accelerated the process of "de dollarization", and the attractiveness of gold as a non sovereign credit asset has increased. Factors such as global supply chain restructuring and US tariff policies are also driving up inflation expectations. The function of gold as a hedge against inflation has been strengthened, and it is expected that international gold prices will continue to rise, possibly breaking through $3200 per ounce in the medium term. Snow White predicts that after the gold price breaks through the key point of $3000/ounce, some funds will have a need for profit taking. In addition, there are signs of oversold rebound in the US stock market, which may to some extent restrict the willingness of funds to flow into gold. In the short term, the gold price may face temporary downward pressure. Before the implementation of US tariff policies, the uncertainty of the economic and trade situation will continue to ferment, coupled with the normalization of geopolitical risks. The strong demand for safe haven assets in the market will still provide strong support for gold prices. From the inflation data, it can be seen that the US experienced a mild decline in inflation in February, and the market generally believes that the risk of the current US economic downturn is higher than the risk of stagflation, which will further boost the upward trend of gold prices. Overall, it is expected that the gold price will exhibit a high volatility pattern this week (March 17th to March 21st). Fan Rui believes that in the short term, the market's expectation of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates this year may affect the performance of the US dollar and indirectly form a certain positive effect on gold prices. In addition, the trade friction caused by the United States imposing tariffs on multiple trading partners is still ongoing, and from the perspective of the scope and duration of the impact, the market is more inclined to allocate gold. (New Society)