Gold up on geopolitical worries

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Monday as tensions continued between the United States and North Korea.

The most active gold contract for June delivery rose 3.4 U.S. dollars, or 0.26 percent, to settle at 1,291.90 dollars per ounce.

Increased geopolitical tensions drove investors to the precious metal on Monday as Pyongyang showed off new missiles and U.S. Vice President Pence visited South Korea. Analysts note that the safe haven properties of the precious metal were appealing to investors, giving support to gold during the trading session.

The precious metal was given further support as the U.S. Dollar Index fell by 0.24 percent to 100.31 as of 19:00 GMT. The index is a measure of the dollar against a basket of other major currencies. Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes down, gold futures will climb up as gold, measured by the dollar, becomes cheaper for investors.

Gold was prevented from rising further as the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 123.52 points, or 0.6 percent as of 18:50 GMT.

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey report released on Monday by the U.S. Federal Reserve put its general business conditions index at a 5.2 level, which analysts note was much worse-than-expected, below the expected level of 15.0. However analysts note that employment remains high, reaching a level of 13.9. Analysts believe this report likely gave slight support to gold, but overall was mainly neutral.

Silver for May delivery added 0.4 cents, or 0.02 percent, to close at 18.514 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July delivery rose 13.7 dollars, or 1.40 percent, to close at 991.10 dollars per ounce. Endit