Gold rose to a record, buoyed by softening US economic data and commentary by Federal Reserve officials that’s created expectations for rate cuts early next year. The precious metal rose as much as 3.1% to $2,135.02 an ounce in early trading on Monday. That surpassed the all-time high it set on Aug. 7, 2020, in the midst of the pandemic. Fed Chair Jerome Powell attempted to push back against investors’ growing expectations of interest-rate cuts in the first half of 2024, but Wall Street responded by doubling down on Friday, despite his warning that “it would be premature to conclude with confidence that we have ... (full story)