Sept 3 (Reuters) - Gold extended its gains, hitting a new all-time high on Wednesday, powered by growing bets on U.S. Federal Reserve rate cuts and persistent market jitters that continue to fuel safe-haven demand.
Spot gold was up 0.6% at $3,554.79 per ounce, as of 9:11 a.m. EDT (1311 GMT), after hitting a record $3,556.01.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery gained 0.8% to $3,621.30.
If the upcoming payrolls report comes in weaker than expected, that would strongly seal the case for a 25-basis-point rate cut in September, which will help gold further, said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals.
"Gold's rally has room to run, with short to medium-term targets around $3,600 to $3,800, and the breakout pattern suggesting $4,000 could be within reach by late first quarter next year," he said.
Investors kept a close watch on a series of key U.S. labor market indicators due this week, including job openings due at 10:00 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, weekly jobless claims and ADP employment on Thursday, and Friday's non-farm payrolls report - all crucial for gauging the trajectory of potential rate cuts.
According to CME Group's FedWatch tool, traders are pricing in a 92% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut at the Fed's September policy meeting.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller repeated his call for September cut on Wednesday, and said that how fast the central bank cuts after that will depend on what happens next in the economy.
Fed Governor Lisa Cook, meanwhile, laid out in greater detail on Tuesday her opposition to President Donald Trump's bid to remove her from office. Trump has repeatedly criticized Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting rates.
"Growing concerns over the independence of the U.S. central bank are further undermining trust in dollar-denominated assets and pushing investors toward gold," traders at Heraeus Metals said.
Trump is set to imminently ask the conservative-majority Supreme Court to validate his broad emergency tariffs after two setbacks at lower courts.
Elsewhere, the euro zone economy kept expanding at a snail's pace in August.
Bullion tends to gain traction during uncertain times and a low interest rate backdrop.
Riding the wave of gold's rally, spot silver rose 0.2% at $40.97, its highest level since September 2011.
Platinum gained 0.8% to $1,417.03 and palladium rose 1.2% to $1,148.60.
Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad, Sherin Elizabeth and Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Joe Bavier
