US-Iran conflict: Gold price hits highest level since 2013

Gold prices have hit 1,588.13 dollars per ounce, the highest level since 2013, spurred on by concerns about escalating unrest in the Middle East.

The surge in prices came on Monday, before prices settled down to 1,577.26 dollars per ounce, which was still 1.6 per cent higher than Friday’s closing price.

Gold sold for about 1,450 dollars per ounce at the start of December, but the price has crept upwards due to rising tensions in the Middle East.

Earlier, U.S assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Iraq caused a further spike.

The boost from Sunday to Monday might also have been exacerbated after U.S President Donald Trump threatened attacks on Iran should it retaliate for the attack on Soleimani.

Iran has vowed vengeance. Iraqi legislators also backed a resolution calling for the removal of all U.S troops from the country, in retaliation for the U.S attack that prompted a threat of sanctions from Trump.

Worries about regional stability have already weighed on stock markets.

Japanese shares fell sharply on Monday, the year’s first trading session, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average losing 451.76 points, or 1.91 per cent, to close at 23,204.86 after falling as much as 2.15 per cent in the morning.