Investing.com - Gold prices settled higher on Monday morning in Asia, along with an advance in the U.S. dollar. The increase in gold prices, a safe-haven asset, is likely to be impacted by geopolitical tensions including the Saudi murder of a journalist, Italy’s budget and Brexit uncertainty.
Gold Futures for December delivery edged up 0.17% to $1,230.8 per troy ounce at 10:23PM (02:23GMT) on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The U.S. dollar index, trading against a basket of currencies, gained 0.06% to 95.44, bringing up gold prices as gold is sold in U.S. dollars.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir told Fox News that the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was a “tremendous mistake” and blamed it on a “rogue operation.” He claimed that the de-facto leader of the kingdom, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, was not aware of the murder, sparking international skepticism.
The UK, France and Germany released a joint statement on the same day, comdemning the murder and urging the kingdom to clarify “exactly what happened on Oct.2 [the date of Khashoggi’s disappearance] - beyond the hypotheses that have been raised so far in the Saudi investigation, which need to be backed by facts to be considered credible.”
During an interview with the Washington Post on Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump was also critical of Saudi Arabia’s explanation of Khashoggi’s death.
“Obviously there’s been deception and there’s been lies. Their stories are all over the place,” Trump told the Post, but he also praised Prince Salman as someone “who can keep things under check.”
Elsewhere, the European Commission issued a letter last Friday, saying that Italy’s budget includes excessive spending, and the Italian government has until Monday noon to have a dialogue with the commission.
Separately, up to 670,000 people took to the streets in London in protest on Saturday, asking for a second Brexit referendum, according to the protest organizer People’s Vote. U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has ruled out such an option and is expected to continue her opposition to the EU’s proposal of the border with Northern Ireland.