Gold rose over 1% on Friday and was within a striking distance of a more than 6-1/2 year high, as investors flocked to the safe-haven metal after a senior Iranian military official was killed in an air strike authorised by the United States.
Tensions flared after Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, and top Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were killed in the air strike on their convoy at Baghdad airport. Spot gold rose 1.3% to $1,548.70 per ounce as of 1159 GMT and touched it highest since early September, when bullion scaled a multi-year peak of $1,557.
US gold futures climbed 1.6% to $1,551.70.
Mirroring gains in gold, silver rose 0.7% to $18.15 per ounce, having touched its best level in two months. Platinum rose 1% to $988.21 and was up 4.6% so far this week. Palladium was up 0.5% at $1,969.31, on track for a weekly gain of more than 3%.
"We are seeing gold and silver continue to build on the gains we saw towards the end of December and there is no doubt that the latest developments with the attack in Iraq has taken us up to this level," Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen said.
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