LONDON: Gold prices edged higher on Friday, heading for a second weekly gain on lingering uncertainty over Western military action in Syria.
US President Donald Trump and his national security aides on Thursday discussed options on Syria, where he has threatened missile strikes in response to a suspected poison gas attack, as a Russian envoy voiced fears of wider conflict between Washington and Moscow.
Trump, however, cast doubt over the timing of his threatened strike on Syria on Thursday, by tweeting that an attack on Syria “could be very soon or not so soon at all”.
Gold is often used as store of value in times of political and financial uncertainty.
“Donald Trump back-pedalled a bit in his morning tweet yesterday, but the danger is still there that situation could escalate with Russia due to a military attack on Syria,” said Quantitative Commodity Research consultant Peter Fertig.
“We are back at a Cold War, which easily could turn into a hot war if someone loses their nerve — and in such a situation gold is a haven.”
Spot gold was up 0.2 per cent at $1,337.61 (Dh4,909) an ounce at 1223 GMT, set for a weekly gain of about half a percent. US gold futures were steady at $1,340.70.
Global equities were poised for their biggest weekly gain in more than a month as investors shrugged off the geopolitical tensions.
Easing concerns over the trade war between China and the United States also weighed on gold in the previous session.
Meanwhile, holdings of SPDR Gold Trust , the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.69 per cent to 865.89 tonnes on Thursday.
Holdings rose to their highest since June 2017 and were up about 3.5 per cent so far this year, suggesting an increase in investor appetite for the metal, seen as a safe investment during times of financial and political uncertainties.
In other precious metals, silver rose 0.4 per cent to $16.51 an ounce, up more than 1 per cent this week.
Platinum was up 0.2 per cent at $927.30. For the week, the metal was on course for a more than 1 per cent gain, the biggest rise in about two months.
Palladium climbed 1.2 per cent to $975.90 and set for a more than 8 per cent weekly gain, its best since January 2017.
