Gold rose to another record after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that it will likely be appropriate to begin lowering interest rates “at some point this year.”

Powell said recent inflation figures — though higher than expected — didn’t “materially change” the overall picture, according to the text of his speech at California’s Stanford University. He signaled policymakers will wait for clearer signs of lower inflation before cutting interest rates. Lower rates are generally positive for bullion since it pays no interest.

The dollar fell and treasury yields pushed lower, boosting bullion by as much as 0.6 per cent to a new all-time high of US$2,295.61 an ounce. While Powell repeated the Fed’s wait-and-see approach, the U.S. central bank’s rate-cutting path remains unchanged despite signs of easing inflation. That’s “very gold positive as it suggests that the Fed will cut significantly before the inflation target is reached,” said Bart Melek, global head of commodity strategy at TD Securities.

The precious metal has risen more than 10 per cent this year, setting a series of records along the way on expectations that lower U.S. interest rates are on the horizon. 

Bullion was up 0.6 per cent to $2,294.56 an ounce at 2:21 p.m. in New York.