Precious metal is trying to benefit from the extremely high level of geopolitical tension in the Middle East
Gold prices inched higher at the opening of the markets on Monday.
At 9 am UAE time, the 24K variant of the precious metal was trading at Dh322.0 per gram, up Dh0.25 per gram from last week's close. The yellow metal fell to Dh316 per gram early last week before recovering later in the week. Among the other variants, 22K, 21K and 18K were trading at Dh298.25, Dh288.75 and Dh247.5 per gram, respectively.
Spot gold was trading at $2,660.46 per ounce, up 0.45 per cent at 9.20 am UAE time.
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Samer Hasn, senior market analyst at XS.com, said gold is trying to benefit from the extremely high level of geopolitical tension in the Middle East as more escalation looms. In contrast, pressure on gold to give up more of its gains may continue in light of the rising trend in Treasury yields.
“Markets are anticipating Israel’s response to an unprecedented Iranian attack, which could be more of an escalation of the regional war than ever before. The Israeli defence minister — who is known for his public disagreement with the prime minister over escalating the war — said that the attack would be strong and surprising,” said Hasn.
On the economic side, the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting carried mixed signals for the markets. Despite the broad support for the Fed’s latest move to cut rates by half a percentage point, the minutes said policymakers did not want the move to be a trigger for further large cuts in the future.
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Waheed Abbas is Assistant Editor, covering real estate, aviation and other business stories that directly affect the lives of UAE consumers. He frequently reports human interest stories, too.