Gold surged past the $4,500-an-ounce mark for the first time on Wednesday, while silver and platinum also scaled record highs, as investors piled into precious metals on safe-haven demand and expectations that US interest rates will fall further next year.

Spot gold rose 0.1 per cent to $4,492.51 per ounce by 3:59am GMT (8:59am PKT), after touching a record high of $4,525.19 earlier in the session. US gold futures for February delivery climbed 0.3pc to a record high of $4,520.60.

Silver gained 1.2pc to $72.27 an ounce, after hitting an all-time peak of $72.70 earlier, while platinum jumped 3.3pc to $2,351.05 after........

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