North Korea’s nuke test prompts gold to hit 10-month high

Gold prices hit their highest level in nearly 10 months during Monday’s trade after North Korea’s latest missile test drove investors towards safe haven assets. Spot gold was up 0.8% at USD 1,335.31 per ounce by 0041 GMT, after touching its strongest since November 9, 2016 at USD 1,336.79. US gold futures for December delivery were up 0.8% at USD 1,340.90.
 
The Japanese yen and sovereign bonds also climbed on Monday as North Korea’s nuclear test provoked the shift to safe havens. North Korea on Sunday conducted its sixth nuclear test, which it said was of an advanced hydrogen bomb for a long-range missile, prompting the threat of a massive military response from the United States if it or its allies were threatened.
 
Trade negotiators from Canada, the United States and Mexico presented proposals for a renewed North American Free Trade Agreement on Friday and tried to put behind them threats from US President Donald Trump to pull out of the treaty. On Friday, traders held expectations that the Federal Reserve would probably wait until the middle of 2018 before raising rates after a government report showed employers added fewer jobs last month than expected.