Aug 20 Reuters Geopolitical tensions, uncertainty created by the upcoming U.S. Presidential election and prospective interest rate cuts look set to help power gold prices, already at records above 2,500 an ounce, to even loftier levels.

A rally which has lifted gold to 2,526.07 an ounce this week has made the precious metal one of 202439;s best performing assets. It is up nearly 460 or more than 20 so far this year.

Gold, typically used as a hedge against political and economic uncertainty, has been boosted by Russia39;s war on Ukraine and hostilities in the Middle East.

We could see gold moving towards 2,600 or 2,700 … towards the end of the year, said Amelia Xiao Fu, head of commodity markets at BOCI. We have the U.S. elections, there39;s still a lot of uncertainty.

Growing expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will start cutting rates in September have boosted the appeal of safehaven assets such as gold and U.S. Treasuries, and undermined the dollar which has a negative relationship with bullion.

We still see very significant value in long gold positions, and maintain our bullish 2,700 forecast for 2025. Fed rate cuts are poised to bring Western capital back into the gold market, said Lina Thomas, commodities strategist at Goldman Sachs.

Strong support also comes from China, which bought gold for its reserves for 18 consecutive months to April before suspending its program due to elevated prices.

Chinese price sensitivity insures against hypothetical…