Gold sails past $3,900/oz for first time

Gold surged past the $3,900-an-ounce level for the first time on Monday, driven by safe-haven demand following a fall in the yen and a U.S. government shutdown, while growing expectations of additional Federal Reserve rate cuts also lent support.

Spot gold was up 1% at $3,925.91 per ounce by 0631 GMT, after hitting all-time high of $3,944.63 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures for December delivery climbed 1.1% to $3,951.60.

A line chart titled "Spot gold price in USD per oz" that tracks the metric over time.

"Yen weakness on the back of the Japanese LDP elections has left investors with one less safe-haven asset to go to, and gold was able to capitalise," said KCM Trade Chief Market Analyst Tim Waterer.

"The enduring U.S. government shutdown means that a cloud of uncertainty still hangs over the U.S. economy, and the potential size of any GDP impact."

Gold is a go-to asset for investors under these circumstances, particularly with the Fed expected to cut rates further this month, Waterer said.

The yen tumbled against the U.S. dollar by the most in five months after fiscal dove Sanae Takaichi was elected to lead the ruling party and become the next prime minister.

The Trump administration will start mass layoffs of federal workers if U.S. President Donald Trump decides negotiations with congressional Democrats to end a partial government shutdown are "absolutely going nowhere," a senior White House official said on Sunday.

Fed Governor Stephen Miran pressed for an aggressive rate cut trajectory again on Friday, citing the impact of Trump administration's economic policies.

Gold has climbed 49% so far this year after a 27% rise in 2024, helped by strong central bank buying, increased demand for gold-backed exchange-traded funds, a weaker dollar and growing interest from retail investors seeking a hedge amid rising trade and geopolitical tensions.

The rally found fresh support last month after the Fed cut rates by a quarter of a percentage point and indicated it would steadily lower borrowing costs for the rest of the year.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, investors are pricing in additional 25-basis-point cuts in both October and December, with probabilities of 95% and 83%, respectively.

Non-yielding gold thrives in a low-interest-rate environment and during economic uncertainties.

Spot gold broke the $3,000-per-ounce level for the first time in March and $3,700 in mid-September. Many brokerages have turned bullish on the rally.

Elsewhere, spot silver climbed 1% to $48.46 per ounce, platinum rose 0.2% to $1,608.65 and palladium gained 0.3% to $1,264.43.

ByteDance Retains Significant Role in TikTok US

ByteDance, the China-based owner of TikTok, is set to maintain ownership of TikTok's U.S. business operations even as it cedes control of the app's U.S. user data, content, and algorithm to a newly formed joint venture. This larger-than-expected continued involvement of ByteDance follows President Donald Trump's executive order on Thursday, which mandated a sale of TikTok's U.S. operations to an investor consortium, including Oracle and Silver Lake, to meet national security requirements.

Dual-Company Structure and Ownership

The proposed structure, which remains under discussion and could still change, reportedly divides U.S. TikTok into two entities:

• Joint Venture: This newly announced venture will manage the backend operations, handling U.S. user data and the algorithm. ByteDance is expected to be the single largest minority shareholder in this entity.

• ByteDance-Owned Division: A separate division, to be wholly owned by ByteDance, will control revenue-generating business operations like e-commerce and advertising.

Vice President JD Vance stated the new U.S. company would be valued at approximately $14 billion.

Congressional Scrutiny

These ownership details have immediately raised questions in Congress regarding whether the deal represents a qualified divestiture of all of TikTok’s U.S. assets as required by the 2024 law. This law mandated ByteDance to divest its U.S. operations or face a ban.

Following the report, Republican John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on China, pledged to conduct full oversight. He emphasized that the deal should "preclude operational ties between the new entity and ByteDance," and that the law set firm guardrails prohibiting cooperation on the crucial recommendation algorithm.

Political Stakes

The fate of TikTok in the U.S. holds high political significance for President Trump. He frequently discusses the platform, which boasts 170 million U.S. users and where he has 15 million personal followers. Trump has credited TikTok with helping him reach young voters and securing his re-election last year. The White House also recently launched its own official TikTok account.

Tylenol is OK if needed

U.S. President Donald Trump's recent public warnings urging pregnant women to "fight like hell" not to take Tylenol (acetaminophen) have immediately triggered widespread concern among patients, prompting a flood of questions for doctors despite scant supporting scientific evidence.

At a White House press conference, Trump, flanked by health officials, warned of a link between the pain reliever and autism, announcing plans to add risk warnings to drug labels.

Patient Anxiety and Doctor Reassurance

The very next day, healthcare providers across the U.S. began fielding anxious questions:

• Dr. Rana Alissa, President of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, reported pregnant women asking, "What should I do? Do you think it's safe? I just took Tylenol last month. Do you think I already hurt my baby?"

• Dr. Rachel Blake, an OB-GYN in New York and New Jersey, has been reassuring her pregnant patients that Tylenol remains safe, emphasizing that "There has been no new research that suggests there should be a change in that guideline."

Medical Community Pushback

Dozens of major medical, research, and autism advocacy groups, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Tylenol maker Kenvue, have publicly decried the President's comments.

• Kenvue maintains that independent, sound science shows the drug does not cause autism.

• Dr. Sindhu Srinivas, president of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, noted that linking Tylenol use to autism only "heaps blame on pregnant women," who already experience significant guilt and fear about taking any medication.

• The CDC and FDA issued warnings to providers, but added the crucial caveat that no causal relationship between acetaminophen and autism has been established.

• European and British health agencies, along with the World Health Organization (WHO), have rushed to correct the record, uniformly stating there is no conclusive evidence linking the drug to autism.

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The Risk of Untreated Fever

Doctors emphasize that while they counsel patients to use the least amount of Tylenol for the shortest time possible, it remains the only pain reliever considered safe during pregnancy.

Critically, untreated fever and pain during pregnancy pose a very real risk to the fetus, potentially leading to:

• Birth defects

• Preterm birth

• Low birth weight

• Miscarriage

• Neurodevelopmental disorders (especially if fever occurs in the first trimester)

Experts like Dr. Caitlin Baptiste, a maternal fetal medicine specialist, stressed that the focus should be on evidence-based science, not adding unfounded worries that leave women vulnerable to misinformation.