Investing.com – Gold prices rose to their highest level this week, buoyed by renewed investor demand for safe havens, after geopolitical tension resurfaced while a fed official downplayed rate hike expectations.
Gold futures for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $7.89 or 0.63%, to $1,257.27 a troy ounce.
Better than expected housing data eased concerns about a slowdown in the housing market, but failed to offset demand for safe-haven gold as North Korea stoked geopolitical tensions, after the Kim Jong-uh led nation tested a rocket engine.
New home sales, which make up about 10% of all U.S. home sales, increased 2.9% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 610,000 units last month, The Commerce Department said on Friday. April's sales pace was also revised sharply higher to 593,000 units from 569,000 units.
Analysts had forecast U.S. existing home sales rising 5.4% to a pace of 597,000 units last month.
According to U.S. officials North Korea carried out another test of a rocket engine that could be part of its program to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The return of demand for safe-haven gold comes amid earlier comments by St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, who said that the Fed can afford to stop raising short-term interest rates and wait and see how the economy develops.
Gold is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.
In other precious metal trading, silver futures rose 0.87% to $16.653, a troy ounce while platinum futures rose by 0.45% to $929.60.
Copper added 1.00% to $2.625, while natural gas, gained 1.28% to $2.931.