Investing.com – Gold prices rose sharply on Friday amid an uptick in geopolitical uncertainty after North Korea ruled out negotiations with Washington on curbing its nuclear weapons programme.
Gold futures for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $14.77, or 1.15%, to $1292.88 a troy ounce.
“As long as there is continuous hostile policy against my country [North Korea] by the U.S. and as long as there are continued war games at our doorstep, then there will not be negotiations,” North Korea’s US ambassador Han Tae Song said.
That fuelled geopolitical uncertainty, raising demand for safe-haven gold as market participants feared that North Korea could retaliate should Washington respond with new sanctions on the isolated nation.
In the U.S., political uncertainty weighed on treasury yields and the dollar, underpinning a move higher in gold prices after reports surfaced that Special Counsel Robert Mueller was set to issue fresh subpoenas for the Trump campaign as part of investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.
Gold is sensitive to moves lower in both bond yields and the U.S. dollar – A weaker dollar makes gold cheaper for holders of foreign currency while a drop in U.S. rates, reduces the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures rose 0.63% to $17.18 a troy ounce, while platinum futures gained 1.90% to $953.95.
Copper traded at $3.07, up 0.62% while natural gas rose by 2.29% to $3.12. The rebound in natural gas comes on the back of slump in the previous session despite data showing domestic supplies in storage fell for the first time this season.