Gold prices rose on Friday as reports that Israel had attacked Iran prompted fears of a wider regional conflict, increasing bullion’s safe-haven appeal.
Spot gold rose 0.1% at $2,380.75 U.S. per ounce after briefly jumping as high as $2,417.59 earlier in the session. Prices hit an all-time high of $2,431.29 hit last week. Bullion was set for a fifth straight weekly rise.
U.S. gold futures slipped 0.1% to $2,395.50.
The news of Israel’s attacks on Iran today “is driving gold price attention on the Middle East which has been the sole thing keeping the gold price moving higher for weeks now. Market is now waiting for more information about the nature of the attack, and what the response would be,” said Kyle Rodda, a financial market analyst at Capital.com.
“Gold is not a monetary policy trade at the moment, it’s a geopolitics trade,” Rodda said.
Israel launched an attack on Iranian soil on Friday, sources said, in the latest tit-for-tat exchange between the two countries that threatens to drag the region deeper into conflict. Iranian media reported explosions, but an Iranian official told Reuters those were caused by air defense system. State media said three drones over the central city of Isfahan had been shot down.
