Fresh geopolitical tensions push gold and silver to higher levels

The prices of precious metals, namely, gold and silver, shot up by over 1% during the Monday’s trading session after North Korea’s latest and most powerful nuclear test drove investors towards safe haven assets. MCX gold was trading up by 1% at Rs 30,121 per 1 kg on the MCX at 1056 hours and MCX silver was trading higher by 1.065 at Rs 41,360 at the same time. 
 
North Korea on Sunday conducted its sixth nuclear test, of what it said was an advanced hydrogen bomb, prompting the threat of a massive military response from the United States if it or its allies were threatened. Meanwhile, the Japanese yen and sovereign bonds also climbed on Monday as North Korea’s nuclear test provoked a knee-jerk shift to safe havens, though equity losses were modest. The US markets are closed on Monday due to Labour Day holiday. 
 
Furhter, the benchmark index Sensex was trading lower by 95.25 points at the 31,796 level and Nifty was trading down by 31 points at the 9,942.90 level.