Gold, the shiny metal that people treasure, got more valuable on Friday. This happened because the world is facing a lot of problems, like fights between countries and uncertainty about money. By 5:25 PM EDT, the price of gold for future contracts was $2,413.80, which is $15.80 more than before, showing a rise of 0.66%. Also, the spot price of gold, which is its price right now, went up to $2,391.77, an increase of $13.01, or 0.55%. This shows that when things get rough, people turn to gold because they trust it to keep its value.
Gold went up in value because people got worried about a possible fight between Israel and Iran. There were reports that Israel attacked Iran with missiles, which made everyone scared that there might be a big war in the Middle East. When things like this happen, investors like to put their money in gold because they think it’s safe.
But later in the day, people found out that the attack wasn’t as big as they thought. It turns out Israel only targeted some places in Iran, not the important ones like their nuclear sites. Also, Iran said they weren’t planning to fight back against Israel, which calmed things down a bit.
Even though the tension in the Middle East eased, gold’s price still kept going up. This was because of other reasons too. The U.S. dollar wasn’t doing so well, which made gold cheaper for people using other currencies.
In terms of the economy, there were mixed signals. Some things looked good, like strong retail sales and positive statements from the Federal Reserve. But some people were worried about inflation, which means prices going up too much. They thought the Federal Reserve might keep interest rates high to control inflation.
All this uncertainty made people sell their stocks in the U.S., with big indexes like the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 going down.
Next week, everyone will be watching closely to see how much people are spending (Personal Consumption Expenditures data). This will help them understand if prices are still going up too fast and if the Federal Reserve might change its plans.
Overall, even though things change in the world and tensions rise and fall, gold remains a popular choice for investors who want a safe place to put their money when things get uncertain.
