The prospect that interest rates might have peaked is powering gold prices to record highs. 

Futures for delivery of gold in December settled at $2,071 a troy ounce Friday, topping their previous high of $2051.50 an ounce hit in August 2020. Gold has advanced for seven of the past eight weeks, bringing its gain this year to 11%. That puts futures on track for their best annual performance since 2020, when Covid-19 crashed the economy and lifted the precious metal 24%. Futures fell 2.3% to $2024.10 on Monday.