Investing.com — Gold prices rose in Asian trading on Friday, nearing record highs as reports of Israeli attacks on Iran increased demand for safe havens, especially in light of deteriorating conditions in the Middle East.
rose to $2,417.79 per ounce, while the June term rose to $2,433.0 per ounce. Spot prices were just below a record high of $2,430.96 per ounce last week.
Escalation between Iran and Israel in focus after reports of explosions throughout Iran
Multiple media reports, including those from Iranian news agencies, show explosions in various parts of Iran, Syria and Iraq. Multiple U.S. news outlets reported that U.S. officials said Israel had hit back against Iran after an attack last week.
Of particular concern were the explosions in the city of Isfahan, which is located near several Iranian nuclear power plants.
Iran had warned Israel earlier this week against attacking its nuclear sites, and that it could even reconsider building nuclear weapons in such a scenario.
The gold price is heading for weekly gains based on the demand for safe havens.
Fears of a worsening conflict in the Middle East sparked a widespread rush to gold as a safe haven, sending the yellow metal higher despite recent warnings of longer yields in the US.
Prices rose sharply after the Iran-Israel news, but this seemed to have little impact on the gold price.
Friday’s gains put gold prices on course for strong weekly gains, with spot prices up about 3% over the past seven days.
This week also marked the fourth week in a row that gold rose, as safe haven demand continued to be buoyed by deteriorating geopolitical conditions in the Middle East.
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Other precious metals also rose sharply following news of Friday’s strikes. rose 0.9% to $958.10 per ounce, while the price rose 1.1% to $28.70 per ounce.
Industrial Metals Upbeat on Tighter Supply Outlook
Among industrial metals, copper and aluminum prices rose to new highs in 2024 on Friday, buoyed by the prospect of tighter supply after the US stepped up sanctions on Russian metal exports.
rose 0.5% to $9,799.0 per tonne, while it rose 0.3% to $4.4445 per pound. Both contracts were at their strongest levels since May 2022.
rose 1.3% to $2,651.0 per tonne and was at the highest level since January 2023.
