There's a new gold rush and it's showing no signs of slowing.
The price of the precious metal reached a record $US3,674 overnight, up from its previous high of $US3,636.
That's around $5,560 Australian.
The gold price has now risen roughly 30 per cent over the year to date.
Any asset reaching a record high is noteworthy, but the recent surge in the price of gold is telling a dramatic story.
Read more from business correspondent David Taylor.
Prices current around 04:30pm AEST
Live updates on the major ASX indices:
Gains in the banking sector has lifted the Australian sharemarket higher on Wednesday.
The ASX 200 index closed up 27 points or 0.3% to 8,830, with financials (+1.4pc) leading the gains.
Here are the top and bottom movers of the day.
Traders have firmed up bets that US labour market softness would spur the Federal Reserve to cut rates by at least a quarter point next week.
Traders see a rate cut by the Fed next Wednesday as a sure thing, and even lay 8.4% odds on a super-sized half-point reduction, the CME Group's FedWatch Tool shows.
The final hurdles to that view will come later this week, in the form of producer and consumer inflation readings, respectively.
"An upside inflation surprise could rock the boat slightly and lead to an unwinding of rate cut probabilities, not so much for September, but for subsequent months," said Kyle Rodda, senior financial markets analyst at Capital.com.
S&P 500 futures pointed 0.3% higher, while the-European STOXX 50 futures gained 0.2%.
Gold caught its breath after Tuesday's record high while the dollar was little changed with two crucial days of US inflation figures, starting later on Wednesday, ahead of the Fed's September 17 decision.
Crude oil continued to rise after Israel's attack on Hamas leadership in Qatar. Indeed, geopolitical worries remained front and centre of investors' minds after Poland scrambled its own and NATO air defences to shoot down drones following a Russian air attack on western Ukraine.
Japan's Nikkei share average added 0.8%, South Korea's jumped 1.7% and Taiwan's equity benchmark climbed as much as 1.5% to hit a record high.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.3%, while mainland Chinese blue chips rose 0.3%.
with Reuters
Jumping on to say a quick hi ahead of tonight's show and to let you know why you should tune in.
Rabobank's global strategist, Michael Every, will be my guest. His take on Israel's deadly strike against Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital is a considered one.
Michael Every says the attack will be a turning point for the Middle East.
It's either going to be destabilising things to a greater degree in a way that America does not want to see ...
Or actually it's an attempt to clear roadblocks, which for various reasons America and the West can't point to, and which may allow ... for a rapid cessation of this war.
Also on tonight's program, Emily Stewart aka Sensible Emily is looking at different savings options currently available now that the interest rates on savings accounts are falling.
Will you join us? Watch on ABC News at 8.45pm, after the late news on ABC TV, or anytime on ABC iView.
Australia's Superior Resources has risen 20% to $0.006, their highest level since August 20.
The diversified miner said sampling results show "outstanding" grades of copper in its Greenvale project in Queensland.
It has also identified gold and silver drilling targets at the site.
The price of spot gold has reached new high in recent weeks.
A vaccine to protect Australia's koalas against chlamydia has been approved for the first time, a move that scientists believe could stop the spread of the deadly disease that has ravaged populations of the beloved endangered marsupial.
The single-dose vaccine is now ready to be used nationally at wildlife hospitals, clinics and in the field.
Chlamydia, a sexually transmitted infection also found in humans, accounts for up to half of all koala deaths in the wild. It can also cause infertility and blindness.
"Some individual colonies are edging closer to local extinction every day," Peter Timms, professor of microbiology at the University of the Sunshine Coast, said in a statement on Wednesday.
He noted that in some populations in the southeast of the state of Queensland and in the state of New South Wales, infection rates are often around 50% and sometimes as high as 70%.
Reporting by Reuters
National Australia Bank will slash more than 400 jobs, adding to the number of workers losing employment in the sector, after ANZ's mass redundancy announcement on Tuesday.
NAB, Australia's second largest bank, will make the cuts in its technology and enterprise operations division, a move it says will simplify team structures.
"Like many businesses, we regularly look at the way we work and how we're structured to deliver the best experience we can for our customers," a NAB spokesperson said.
"While some roles are no longer required or may move location, we are also creating new roles across all locations as necessary, to ensure we are set up for success and can deliver better outcomes."
The Finance Sector Union criticised the lender's decision to cut the roles at the same time as hiring for more than 120 new positions in India and Vietnam, shifting local work overseas.
The FSU said more than 700 workers will be impacted by the changes, which will see permanent cuts to 410 jobs.
The NAB spokesperson said having a global workforce would help the business to "extend hours of operation, speeding up processes and improving turnaround times for customers".
NAB's move to slash its workforce has come just a day after its rival ANZ revealed its plan to terminate 3,500 workers by next September.
The FSU, which is representing affected workers, said NAB's job cuts would shift work performed in Australia overseas.
"Two banks in two days slashing jobs, it's shameful," the FSU's national president Wendy Streets said.
"This isn't one rogue bank, it's the whole sector driving the same agenda at the expense of workers and communities."
Read more from reporter Yiying Li:
In news out of the US, a judge has temporarily blocked US President Donald Trump from removing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook from the central bank board.
In an early setback for the White House in an unprecedented legal battle that could upend the Fed's long-held independence, the preliminary ruling found the Trump administration's claims that Ms Cook committed mortgage fraud prior to taking office were likely not sufficient grounds for her removal.
Ms Cook denies any wrongdoing.
"President Trump has not identified anything related to Cook's conduct or job performance as a Board member that would indicate that she is harming the Board or the public interest by executing her duties unfaithfully or ineffectively," US District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington, DC wrote in her ruling.
Mr Trump moved to fire Ms Cook in late August, but the Fed has said she remains in her position. The Fed declined to comment on the decision.
The ruling prevents the Fed from following through on Ms Cook's firing while her lawsuit moves forward.
Last week nearly 600 economists signed an open letter in support of Ms Cook as she resists Mr Trump's attempts to fire her.
Australian economist and professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan Justin Wolfers was one of the signatories — you can listen to his interview with Sally Sara on Radio National Breakfast below.
Reporting with Reuters
The federal government is removing income and place restrictions for first home buyers in an expansion of the Home Guarantee Scheme.
The changes will see the number of eligible house and unit markets available to scheme participants almost double, data from Cotality has revealed.
The expansion will come into effect from October 1.
Read more from Lexy Hamilton-Smith.