Gold rises 1% with new strain in focus

Spot gold advanced over 1% on Friday, as the traders turned to safe-haven assets amid fears related to the spread of the new COVID-19 variant.

Apart from gold, the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc, also seen as hedges against volatility, surged 1.24% and 1.08% compared to the United States dollar, with the greenback selling for ¥113.9375 and 0.92570 Swiss francs at 6:45 am ET.

The price of gold rose by 1.22% at 6:46 am ET to sell for $1,812.5 per ounce. At the same time, silver was flat and went for $23.62 per ounce. A minute later, platinum was down by 0.72% to be valued at $991.5 per ounce, while palladium sank by 1.89% to cost $1,833.08 per ounce.

Baha Breaking News (BBN) / BU