The Financial Post reports in its Thursday edition that gold touched an all-time high as fund buying combined with speculation over a U.S. Federal Reserve pivot and geopolitical and financial risks underpinned its rally. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post says that bullion rose as much as 1.3 per cent to $2,141.79 an ounce Tuesday before paring gains, topping the previous record of $2,135.39 set three months ago. It then hit a fresh record of $2,149.25 Wednesday after Fed chair Jerome Powell reiterated that interest rate cuts are likely later this year. Gold is up more than 4 per cent since Feb. 29, fuelled by expectations for monetary easing, geopolitical tensions and the risk of an equity markets pullback. Funds and momentum buying by commodity trading advisers contributed to the gain, according to TD Securities commodity strategist Ryan McKay. The scale of the move surprised some market watchers, particularly since there has not been a significant change in expectations for the Fed's easing pivot or other macroeconomic drivers during that time. The rising risk of a stock market correction -- flagged by weak U.S. manufacturing data on March 1 -- may have persuaded some investors to move out of equities and into gold.