Investing.com - Gold futures continued their advance on Wednesday on safe haven buying triggered by U.S./Iran tensions and increased euro zone debt fears.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery traded at USD1612.75 a troy ounce during late U.S. trade climbing 0.77%.
It earlier hit a high of USD1619.65 and a low of USD1594.05.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1547.79 and technical resistance exists at USD1655.49.
Strength in the U.S. dollar did little to lessen the bullish precious metal price environment.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, gained 0.58% to trade at 80.42.
Dollar strength generally lowers commodity prices, as it decreases their appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
U.S. Iranian tensions increased when Iran warned the U.S. about sending an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf to counter a 10 day naval exercise conducted by Iran's navy. The U.S. dismissed the warnings saying regularly scheduled movements of Navy ships will continue as usual.
Gold bullishness was aided by Italy's largest bank UniCredit saying it will sell shares to raise USD9.8 billion, not to mention the European Central Bank revealed that overnight deposits from financial institutions hit an all time high.
Rumors that Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy may apply for ECB and International Monetary Fund loans added to the negative euro sentiment adding to the gold positive sentiment. However, official sources denied the speculation.
For much of the last year, investor's typical reaction to bad news from Europe was to buy gold, as its boosts safe haven appeal of the precious metal, but that relationship has unraveled recently.
Instead, gold futures have moved largely in line with other commodities and risk assets over the past month, with investors preferring the relative safety of the U.S. dollar.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for March delivery dropped by 1.64% to trade at USD29.08 a troy ounce, while copper for March delivery moved lower by 2.81% to trade at USD3.43 a pound.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery traded at USD1612.75 a troy ounce during late U.S. trade climbing 0.77%.
It earlier hit a high of USD1619.65 and a low of USD1594.05.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1547.79 and technical resistance exists at USD1655.49.
Strength in the U.S. dollar did little to lessen the bullish precious metal price environment.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, gained 0.58% to trade at 80.42.
Dollar strength generally lowers commodity prices, as it decreases their appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
U.S. Iranian tensions increased when Iran warned the U.S. about sending an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf to counter a 10 day naval exercise conducted by Iran's navy. The U.S. dismissed the warnings saying regularly scheduled movements of Navy ships will continue as usual.
Gold bullishness was aided by Italy's largest bank UniCredit saying it will sell shares to raise USD9.8 billion, not to mention the European Central Bank revealed that overnight deposits from financial institutions hit an all time high.
Rumors that Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy may apply for ECB and International Monetary Fund loans added to the negative euro sentiment adding to the gold positive sentiment. However, official sources denied the speculation.
For much of the last year, investor's typical reaction to bad news from Europe was to buy gold, as its boosts safe haven appeal of the precious metal, but that relationship has unraveled recently.
Instead, gold futures have moved largely in line with other commodities and risk assets over the past month, with investors preferring the relative safety of the U.S. dollar.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for March delivery dropped by 1.64% to trade at USD29.08 a troy ounce, while copper for March delivery moved lower by 2.81% to trade at USD3.43 a pound.