– Gold price breaks above key 200-day moving average

– Gold hits 5-month high on back of investor nervousness

– Safe haven has 10% gains in 2017 after 9% gains in 2016

– Gold options signal more gains as ETF buying increases

– Geopolitical uncertainty over North Korea & Middle East

– Tensions high -World awaits US move & Russia response

– Russia says chemical attack was terrorist “false flag”

– Poor March jobs report shows US economy vulnerable

– French elections still tight and Le Pen still has chance

Gold prices surged another 2% to a five-month high above $1,270 amidst geopolitical uncertainty and weak US economic data.

The break above the 200-day moving average has cleared the way for a run towards $1,300/oz. It means that gold continues to be one of the best performing assets in 2017 with gains of 10.3% year to date building on the 9% gains in 2016.

Gold’s move was a traditional flight to safety following the US’ missile attack on Syria and Trump making aggressive sounds regarding intervention against North Korea including tweets.

The weak jobs report also prompted fears that future Fed interest rate hikes could be delayed or slowed and this has provided further support for the price of gold.

Tensions between Syria, Russia, North Korea and the US underline the serious geo-political risks. There is the real risk of a serious military confrontation. This is creating uncertainty which is an environment that serves gold best.

These risks have led to very bullish activity in the options market with a surge in call option gold buying and gold ETF buying.

As reported by Bloomberg:

Gold options are signaling there’s more room to run for bulls.

Prices and volumes surged Tuesday on calls giving holders the right to buy bullion at higher prices. As of 11:21 a.m. in New York, trading in the most-active option was 10 times Monday’s total, and price swings on options were at the highest in three months. Investors also returned to the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by the metal. 

US TV hosts, Putin and Trump – all finger pointing

Since the chemical attack in Syria last week, finger pointing over who is responsible for the attack (and why) has been going strong.