Gold prices in Japan hit record high amid Middle East crisis

Retail prices of gold in Japan hit a record high for the first time in about three weeks on Monday, aided by safe-haven buying reflecting the escalating conflict between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel, Report informs via Japanese media.

At Tokyo-based major precious metal seller Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K., the day’s tax-inclusive retail gold prices stood at 10,233 yen per gram, up 262 yen from Friday.

Yen-denominated gold prices rose sharply also on the back of a surge in New York gold futures, regarded as a global benchmark, late last week.

Between late September and early October, gold prices declined on speculation of continued monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve.

But investors are recently “buying back gold as a safe-haven asset amid the worsening Middle East situation,” a commodity analyst said.