Investing.com – Gold prices spiked to one-week highs Wednesday, on the back of a surge in safe haven demand, after North Korea said it is considering an attack on the U.S. pacific territory of Guam.
Gold futures for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $17.14, or 1.35%, to $1,279.67 a troy ounce.
Safe-haven demand rose after North Korea said it was "carefully examining" a plan to strike Guam, where a U.S. military base is located, shrugging off President Donald Trump’s earlier warning that further threats to the United States will be met with "fire and fury".
The surge in gold prices come a day after the yellow metal snapped a three-day winning streak, as investors cheered U.S. job openings data that topped expectations suggesting the U.S. labor market continues to strengthened, raising the prospect of the Federal Reserve hiking rates later this year.
The producer price index and the consumer price index data due Thursday and Friday, will offer market participants fresh insight on whether the pace of inflation remains subdued – the slowdown inflation has been a key concern for the Federal Reserve.
The U.S. central bank left its benchmark rate unchanged in July amid concerns about the slowdown in inflation but expressed optimism that its long-term target of about 2% inflation would be met.
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 trade, silver futures rose 2.67% to $16.827 while platinum futures rose by 0.19% to $976.35.
Copper traded at $2.927, down 0.59%, while natural gas, tacked on 2.37% to $2.892.