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Gold gains on North Korea tensions

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Gold gains on North Korea tensions

Women shop for gold at a store in Dubai.

london - Gold hit a two-week low on Tuesday after US jobs data came in better than expected

Published: Wed 9 Aug 2017, 5:06 PM

Updated: Wed 9 Aug 2017, 7:09 PM

Gold rose on Wednesday after North Korea said it is considering an attack on the US Pacific territory of Guam just hours after President Donald Trump warned Pyongyang that any threat to the US would be met with "fire and fury".

The tensions rattled through global markets, sending investors out of equities and into the safety of the yen, Swiss franc and government debt. The VIX "fear gauge" of expected volatility on the S&P 500 hit a near month high on Tuesday.

Spot gold rose 0.6 per cent to $1,267.79 per ounce at 1004 GMT, while US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.9 per cent to $1,273.50 per ounce.

Gold hit a two-week low on Tuesday after US jobs data came in better than expected and the dollar turned positive, while investors awaited US inflation figures later this week for further clues about the pace of interest rate rises.

"We've had some competing forces play out over the past 12 hours - the US dollar was stronger off economic data, but that was quickly reversed with President Trump's comments about North Korea," ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes said.

"I think [the North Korea situation] is going to continue to provide a little bit of support, but not enough to push prices significantly higher from here," he added.

Switzerland's franc, a traditional safe haven, surged 0.6 per cent against the dollar on Wednesday, prompted in part by worries about increased US-North Korea tension. - Reuters



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