Gold hits 7-year high

GLOBAL investors are plowing into safe haven assets as fallout continues from the US killing of Iran’s top general, Qasem Soleimani.
Iran said over the weekend it would abandon restrictions on uranium enrichment under the nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration, and Iraq’s parliament voted to expel US troops. US President Donald Trump said his administration has identified 52 Iranian sites, including culturally-important locations, to target if Iran retaliates.
The situation is pushing global investors to sell stocks, while Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, reached US$70 per barrel on Monday.
“The market is pricing in an event like Iraq seeing a significant disruption to supply” as foreign companies pull out their personnel, Anish Kapadia, director of energy at Palissy Advisors, said.
Traditional safe bets, meanwhile, have shot up in popularity: The Japanese yen hit its strongest level against the US dollar since October, and gold is trading near US$1,577 an ounce, its highest in nearly seven years.
Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients Monday that it maintains its three-month forecast for gold to reach US$1,600 an ounce, but that prices could climb even higher “if geopolitical tensions worsen.” The investment bank sees oil prices coming back down “absent a major supply disruption.” — CNN