Gold steady near one-week high

Geopolitical tensions boost yellow metal as rhetoric between North Korea, US remains heated

Gold eased under pressure from the dollar yesterday but was still near oneweek highs as North Korea appeared to have boosted coastal defences amid rising tension with the United States.

Spot gold shed 0.4 per cent to $1,305.18 (Dh4,793.92) per ounce at 1011 GMT, after earlier marking its highest since September 20 at $1,313.54. It gained more than 1 per cent the previous session. US gold futures rose 0.3 per cent to $1,308 per ounce.

“Geopolitics haven’t come off the table. They are still front and centre but after a rally you tend to get a tiny bit of a pullback,” said ETF Securities commodity strategist Nitesh Shah.

“The rhetoric from both North Korea and the United States remains quite heated.”

North Korea appears to have boosted defences on its east coast, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, after the North said US President Donald Trump had declared war and that it would shoot down US bombers flying near the peninsula.