Gold prices surge on Fed's hints of rate-hike pause and retreat from record high.

Gold prices rose to $2,040 after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled a potential pause in tightening following another 25-basis-point rate hike. Powell said the Fed will be driven by a combination of incoming data and credit conditions, and will be watching what small and medium-sized banks are doing and credit availability. The focus for the Fed will be on balancing the risk of not doing enough and not getting inflation under control against the risk of slowing down economic activity too much.