Gold price hits over two-month high on N.Korea tensions

London (Aug 10)  Gold lingered near a two-month high hit earlier on Thursday, as rising tensions on the Korean
peninsula continued to support safe-haven demand.

North Korea dismissed on Thursday warnings by U.S. President Donald Trump that it would face "fire and fury" if it threatened
the United States as a "load of nonsense", and outlined detailed plans for a missile strike near the Pacific territory of Guam.
              
"(Safe-haven demand) has settled down to a certain extent, but the market is still expecting more news to come," said
Brian Lan, managing director at gold dealer GoldSilver Central in Singapore.

"North Korea doesn't seem like they're going to back down and the U.S. has also made a very strong stance this time."    
 
Geopolitical risk can boost demand for assets seen as safe-havens such as gold.

Spot gold  crept up 0.1 percent to $1,278.51 per ounce at 0656 GMT. The precious metal climbed 1.3 percent in the
previous session, its biggest gain since mid-May, and touched $1,279.64 an ounce, it highest level since June 9.

U.S. gold futures  for December delivery rose 0.4
percent to $1,284.40 per ounce.
    Asian stocks steadied and U.S. Treasury bond prices fell
slightly on Thursday as the risk aversion triggered by tensions
between the United States and North Korea began to
settle.          
    "Amid all the sabre-rattling, we expect gold prices to
continue to move higher and likely cross the $1,300 an ounce
mark in relative short order," said INTL FCStone analyst Edward
Meir.
    The market was also waiting for data that would offer clues
about the extent to which the strengthening U.S. labour market
is spilling over into inflation.
    "Investors tend to be more cautious ahead of economic data,
especially when the prices are high. They might take profits
first and wait to see what's going to happen before they move
into the market again," said GoldSilver's Lan.
    In other precious metals, silver        rose 0.8 percent to
$17.04 per ounce after hitting its highest since June 15 earlier
in the session.
    Platinum fell 0.3 percent to $968.20 per ounce. In
the previous session, it marked its highest since April 21 at
$980.60.
    Palladium prices  rose 0.1 percent to $891.75 per
ounce.

Reuters