Gold prices went up on Wednesday as safe-haven demands were lifted by expectations that geopolitical tensions may continue, although further gains were made as the dollar recovered slightly amid perception of a quick ease in tensions around North Korea.
Brian Lan, managing director at dealer GoldSilver Central in Singapore said, “A lot of people are still seeing gold as a safe haven because we have not heard much in terms of reactions of the different countries to North Korea’s action”.
Spot gold climbed 0.3 percent to $1,313.10 an ounce, but was off a more than nine-month peak hit on Tuesday at $1325.94.
U.S. gold futures were little changed at $1,318.30 an ounce.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, went up 0.3 percent on Tuesday.
Geopolitical risks can boost demand for safe-haven assets such as gold, considered a good store of value during volatility in other markets.
North Korea said on Wednesday it had conducted a test of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) to counter U.S. and South Korean military drills.
In other precious metals, silver climbed 0.6 percent to $17.45 an ounce, however, it was trading below its more than two-month peak of $17.67 which was hit on Tuesday.
Platinum advanced 0.2 percent to $994.30 an ounce. The metal touched its highest since early March at $1,006.30.
Palladium was steady at $942.99 an ounce, hitting $949.10 an ounce in the previous session, its highest in 16 years.