(Bloomberg) -- Gold extended its rally to a fresh record high, amid tensions in the Middle East and as traders looked toward the US presidential election.

Most Read from Bloomberg

• A Broken Oil Pipeline Plunges South Sudan’s Capital Into Chaos

• Drug Decriminalization Spawns a Political Debacle for Progressives

• Climate Change Is Killing Buildings in Slow Motion

• Cities Look to AI to Flag Residents’ Trash and Recycling Mistakes

• Chicago Should Consider Furloughs, Higher Booze Tax, Watchdog Says

Bullion rose as much as 0.6% — having breached the $2,700-an-ounce threshold on Friday — with analysts attributing gains to haven demand amid uncertainty around the outcome of the US election and ongoing worries over the Middle East. Israel has been discussing its attack on Iran after a Hezbollah drone exploded near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private home at the weekend.

Fellow precious metal silver has also advanced, climbing as much as 1.2% on Monday to the highest since 2012.

Gold has hit successive all-time highs in recent months and is up by more than 30% this year. Along with haven demand and US political uncertainty, the rally has been fueled by robust central-bank buying and expectations of US interest-rate cuts. Lower rates are often seen as bullish for non-interest bearing gold.

“The simple bottom line is that gold thrives on uncertainty,” said Rhona O’Connell, head of market analysis for EMEA and Asia at StoneX. “The lack of clarity over the medium-term direction of US foreign policy is adding to nervousness.”

Meanwhile, money managers have increased their net-long position in gold, while investors have added to exchange-traded fund holdings in recent sessions. Gold futures may rise to average $3,000 in the fourth quarter of 2025, Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Vivek Dhar said in a note.

See also: European Gold Miners Rise as Haven Metal Hits New Record

Gold is being helped by “growing concerns about a rising US debt pile,” and the price momentum is also supporting technical buying by short-term focused traders, said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank A/S.

Spot gold rose 0.5% to $2,734.33 an ounce at 1 p.m. in London. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index and US 10-year Treasury yield also gained. Palladium fell, while platinum and silver increased.

“We believe the macro picture, combined with safe-haven demand amid an escalation of tensions in the Middle East and the ongoing war in Ukraine, will drive gold to new highs,” said Ewa Manthey, a commodities strategist at ING Bank NV. Gold is likely to perform well regardless of the US election outcome, she said.