Gold surged to a fresh high just below 4,200 dollars per ounce on Wednesday, Oct. 15, lifted by growing expectations of further U.S. interest rate cuts and renewed trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. Spot gold rose 1.1% to 4,185.59 dollars an ounce at 06:04 GMT, after hitting a record 4,193.38 dollars earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures for Dec. delivery climbed 1% to 4,204.30 dollars, according to Reuters. "The U.S. government shutdown and dovish remarks from Jerome Powell have provided the latest spark for gold's rally," said Matt Simpson, senior analyst at StoneX.Rate cuts in sight Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. labor market remains weak, though the economy "may be on a somewhat firmer footing than expected." He emphasized that future rate decisions would be made meeting by meeting, balancing soft labor data against persistent inflation. Investors now see an almost certain chance of...