Spot gold extended its record‑setting rally on Thursday, marching above the $5,400 per ounce mark as investors sought safety amid deepening economic and geopolitical uncertainty.

Spot gold XAU= was up 0.3% at $5,413.67 an ounce at 2209 GMT after hitting a record high at $5,418.39 earlier in the session.

Geopolitical tensions persisted after U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iran on Wednesday to come to the table and make a deal on nuclear weapons or the next U.S. attack would be far worse.

Tehran responded with a threat to strike back against the U.S., Israel and those who support them.

On the policy front, the U.S. Federal Reserve decided to leave rates unchanged on Wednesday, as widely expected.

After the statement, traders boosted their bets that the Fed would cut short-term borrowing costs in June – but not before then.

Both Governor Christopher Waller, a contender to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell when his term as central bank chief ends in May, and Governor Stephen Miran, on leave from his job as an economic adviser at the White House, dissented in favor of a quarter-percentage-point rate cut.

Gold, a traditional safe-haven asset, has gained more than 25% so far this year, typically benefiting from a low interest rate environment, after rising 64% in 2025.

Meanwhile, with gold prices setting new all-time highs this week, customers have been cramming into stores in Shanghai and Hong Kong that sell the precious metal, with some betting the price could rise even further.

Spot silver was steady at $116.61 an ounce after hitting a record high of $117.69 on Monday.

Spot platinum rose 0.4% to $2,705.79 an ounce, after hitting a record $2,918.80 on Monday, while palladium rose 0.3% to $2,079.32 an ounce.

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(Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee and Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese and Shreya Biswas)