Gold prices climbed back above $1,900 an ounce on Friday to trade at their highest in nearly three weeks, as Israel ordered over a million people to evacuate Gaza, lifting safe-haven demand for the precious metal. “The events in the Middle East have taken center stage, vastly overshadowing market concerns and discussions,” Stephen Innes, managing director at SPI Asset Management, told MarketWatch. “The conflict and its implications have captured the world’s attention and become the primary focus of media and public discourse, temporarily diverting attention from financial and economic matters.”
The Israeli military told more than 1 million Palestinians, almost half of the population, on Friday to evacuate northern Gaza, raising expectations that a ground invasion is imminent against the ruling Hamas militant group. “If Israel moves into Gaza with their modern-day military might, when considering the presence of hostile actors in the region and the fundamental nature of the conflict being rooted in religious differences, we could be on the cusp of something significant,” said Innes. Given that, “I think it is fear of war driving gold,” he said. “I don’t think traders wanted to be short oil or gold…over the weekend, just in case multiple Middle East powder kegs explode.” Against that backdrop, the December gold contract
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