Investing.com -- Gold rose considerably amid heightened geopolitical tensions after Turkey shot down a Russia fighter jet near the Syria border on Tuesday, marking the first time an airplane from Russia was downed by a NATO member since the 1950s.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for December delivery traded in a broad range between $1,068.10 and $1,080.50 an ounce before settling at $1,074.60, up 7.80 or 0.73% on the session. Since falling to fresh five-year lows last week, gold has closed higher in three of the last five sessions. Over the last month of trading, the precious metal has slumped by nearly 8%.
Gold likely gained support at $1,064, the low from Nov. 18 and was met with resistance at $1,182, the high from Oct. 28. NATO called an emergency meeting on Tuesday afternoon after a Turkish F-16 jet plane shot down a Russian jet along the Turkish province of Hatay. Turkey claimed the jet violated its air space, adding that it issued 10 warnings to Russia in a span of five minutes before firing the shots, Pentagon officials told Fox News. Officials from the Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, claimed the jet remained within the borders of Syrian territory, citing "objective monitoring data." In response to the attacks, Russia president Vladimir Putin warned of serious consequences in Russian-Turkish relations, calling the actions "a shot in the back."
It came hours before France president Francois Hollande arrived in Washington for diplomatic talks with U.S. president Barack Obama on the collaborative efforts needed between Western powers in order to combat global terrorism. Hollande has scheduled a series of meetings with World leaders, including Putin in the wake of a terrorist attack in Paris earlier this month that claimed the lives of at least 120 civilians. Leaders from the Islamic State have accepted responsibility for the attacks.
Speaking at a press conference at the White House, Obama said he expects to be in communication with Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the coming days.
"Turkey like every country has the right to defend its air space," Obama said. "I think its important right now that the Russian and Turks are talking to each other, find out exactly what happened and take measures to discourage any type of escalation."
"I do think that this points to an ongoing problem with the Russian operations in the sense that they are operating very close to a Turkish border and that they are going after a moderate opposition that are not only supported by Turkey, but a wide range of countries," Obama added. "If Russia is directing its energies toward Daesh and ISIL, some of those conflicts or potentials for mistakes are less likely to occur."
Gold is viewed as a safe-haven asset for investors in periods of increased global instability.
Elsewhere, the U.S. Department of Commerce upwardly revised third quarter GDP growth by six tenths in its latest estimates to 2.1%. Inventories were revised upward from negative 1.4 to minus 0.6, while net exports continued to weigh on economic growth. Analysts expected revised estimates of third quarter GDP to increase moderately to 2.1%.
The Federal Reserve continues to monitor economic indicators as it weighs whether to raise its benchmark Federal Funds Rate when it meets next month. Over the last three weeks, a host of Federal Open Market Committee members have sent strong indications that it will approve a rate hike for the first time in nearly a decade.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, fell more than 0.25% to an intraday low of 99.52. On Monday, the index moved above 100 for the first time since mid-March. Dollar-denominated commodities such as gold become more expensive for foreign purchasers when the dollar appreciates.
Silver for December delivery gained 0.163 or 1.16% to 14.195 an ounce.
Copper for March delivery spiked 0.047 or 2.33% to 2.069 a pound.