The price of gold rose along with the dollar on Friday after the Trump administration announced harsher sanctions on Iran over its alleged role in theattacks on Saudi oil facilitieslast weekend.
Gold Price Holds Above $ 1, 500
Precious metals were higher across the board on Friday, as investors reacted to the latest geopolitical developments involving Iran and Saudi Arabia. Futures on December gold delivery peaked at $ 1, 514. 30 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract last traded at $ 1, 510. 00 a troy ounce, having gained 0.3%.
The yellow metal has seen a volatile stretch of trading since hitting new six-year highs earlier this month. This includes multiple instances of sub- $ 1, 500 trading , the most recent being Thursday.
Silver traded mostly flat during the Friday session, with the December futures contract holding near $ 17. 89 a troy ounce.
TheUS dollar, which often trades inversely with precious metals, rose 0.3% against a basket of currencies. The DXY dollar index was last seen trading at 53.
Trump Administration Imposes Harsher Sanctions on Iran
President Trumpannounced Friday that the United Sates has imposed sanctions on Iran national bank in the wake of drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities last weekend.
“We’ve never done it at this level, ”Trump said of the sanctions, asreportedby The Wall Street Journal.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the sanctions effectively cut off Iran last remaining source of funding.
Iran has denied involvement in the drone strikes that targeted Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq oil facilities, which wiped out 5.7 million in daily crude production.Yemen’s Houthi rebels, which have been at war with Saudi Arabia since 2015, claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Saudis and its allies invaded Yemen to restore the government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, resulting in one of the biggest humanitarian crises since the Iraq war. After years of fighting, Houthis have maintained control of the country’s key population centers.
Last modified (UTC): September 20, 2019 3: (PM
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