Gold jumps to 9-1/2-month high!
· Gold rallied to a 9-1/2-month high on Monday, breaching $1,300 per ounce as the dollar fell and the euro rose after the head of the European Central Bank (ECB) said that the euro zone's economic recovery had taken hold at a meeting of central bankers.
· At the meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the ECB's Mario Draghi said the bank's ultra-loose monetary policy was working and the euro zone's economic recovery had taken hold, refraining from commenting on the euro's recent strength.
· That pushed the euro to its highest in more than 2-1/2 years against the U.S. dollar, while the dollar index fell to its lowest since May 2016.
· Spot gold rose 1.4 percent at $1,309.25 an ounce by 2:01 p.m. EDT (1801 GMT), after rising to its highest since early November at $1,309.98.
U.S. gold futures settled up 1.3 percent at $1,315.30.
· North Korea fired a missile that flew over Japan and landed in waters off the northern region of Hokkaido early on Tuesday, South Korean and Japanese officials said, marking a sharp escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula.
· Speculators raised their net long position in COMEX gold for the sixth straight week in the week to Aug. 22.
· In other precious metals, silver was up 2 percent at $17.39 an ounce, after touching its highest since early June at $17.45.
· Platinum rose 1.3 percent to $984.50 and palladium edged up 0.5 percent to $934, close to a 16-1/2-year high of $940.50 hit on Friday.
Reference: Reuters
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