Gold settles above $1,200 as Yemen rattles markets
CNBC - Mar 26, 2015
Gold rallied to a 3-1/2 week high on Thursday as escalating tensions in the Middle East knocked stocks and the dollar and drove investors into assets viewed as lower risk, such as bullion and German bonds.
U.S. stocks fell and oil prices leapt after Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies launched air strikes in Yemen to counter Iran-allied forces besieging the southern city of Aden.
Spot gold hit a peak of $1,219.40 an ounce and was up .7 percent at $1,203 an ounce. U.S. gold for April delivery settled $7.80 higher at $1,204.80.
"If the situation in the Middle East did not improve, prices could continue to rise, but otherwise they are likely to fall back below $1,200,'' Commerzbank commodity analyst Daniel Briesemann said.
"Prices have soared 2 percent this morning on Yemen but in general underlying demand is not generated by risk events and fundamentally I don't see a reason gold would move significantly in either direction in the short term.''
