Gold Price Finds Support As US-N.Korea Tensions Escalate
London (Sept 23) Gold prices rose on Friday amid an uptick in safe-haven demand as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to make a "mentally deranged" Trump pay dearly for an earlier threat to "totally destroy" North Korea if threatened.
Gold futures for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $5.95, or 0.46%, to $1,300.75 a troy ounce.
U.S.-North Korea relations further strained on Friday, fueling demand for safe-haven gold after North Korea said it might test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean.
The prospect of North Korea carrying out yet another act of provocation comes amid Kim Jong-un's brazen pledge to make a "mentally deranged" Trump pay dearly for an earlier threat to "totally destroy" North Korea if it threatened America or its allies.
The uptick in safe-haven demand, however, is unlikely to rescue the pressure metal from a second-straight weekly loss, following a surge in expectations for a year-end Federal Reserve rate hike.
The Federal Reserve indicated that its members' rate-hike outlook saw rates rising to between 1.25% and 1.5% by the end of the 2017. With rates steady at 1-1.25%, that points to one further rate hike this year.
According to Investing.com's Fed rate monitor tool, more than 70% of traders expect the Federal Reserve to hike rates in December.
Gold is sensitive to moves higher in U.S. rates, which lifts the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures gained 0.12% to $17.04 a troy ounce while platinum futures lost 0.62% to $934.10.
Copper traded at $2.94, up 0.29% while natural gas rose by 0.31% to $2.96.
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