WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures continued to soar Tuesday, hitting yearly highs amid geopolitical concerns and signs the Federal Reserve will relent on interest rate hikes.
Dec. gold gained $14.10, or 1.1%, to settle at $1,344.50/oz, the highest since September 2016.
Markets were on edge amid reports that North Korea is moving ICBM missiles towards its West Coast in preparation for another test launch.
Meanwhile, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said it is very possible that the central bank's four interest-rate hikes since late 2015 could now be doing 'real harm' to the economy.
Also, inflation is falling 'well short' of target so the Federal Reserve should be cautious about raising interest rates until it is confident of a rebound, Fed Governor Lael Brainard.
In economic news, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing a sharp pullback in factory orders in the month of July.
Factory orders plunged by 3.3 percent in July after surging up by an upwardly revised 3.2 percent in June.
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