Investing.com - Gold pushed higher in North American trade on Tuesday, as fears over the Brexit fallout again took a toll on markets, boosting demand for safe-haven assets.
Gold for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange climbed $11.00, or 0.82%, to trade at $1,350.00 a troy ounce by 13:38GMT, or 9:38AM ET.
A day earlier, gold spiked to $1,360.30, just $2.00 below a two-year high scaled in the immediate aftermath of the U.K.’s shock decision to leave the European Union late last month.
The yellow metal rose almost 9% in June, its biggest monthly increase since February. Prices are up nearly 27% so far this year, completing one of its strongest first halves on record.
Gold has been well-supported in recent weeks amid fading expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike in the next couple of months and as Britain’s vote to exit the EU sent investors flooding into safe haven assets.
Britain's vote to leave the European Union has ramped up the urgency for central banks around the world to ease monetary policy.
The Bank of England has indicated it could provide stimulus measures to support the economy in coming months. In addition, many investors expect the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and the People’s Bank of China to expand their monetary easing.
Expectations of monetary stimulus tend to benefit gold, as the metal is seen as a safe store of value and inflation hedge.
Market participants are also betting that the Federal Reserve would hold off on raising interest rates this year, instead of doing so twice as officials had projected.
The precious metal is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates. A gradual path to higher rates is seen as less of a threat to gold prices than a swift series of increases.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for September delivery rose 29.5 cents, or 1.51%, to trade at $19.88 a troy ounce. On Monday, prices soared to $21.09, the most since July 2014.
In the week ahead, market players will be shifting their attention slightly away from Brexit-related headlines and more towards economic fundamentals and U.S. monetary policy, with the June nonfarm payrolls report and FOMC meeting minutes in the spotlight. There is also ISM services data on Wednesday.