Gold Prices Rally

Gold prices rose to their highest level in almost seven weeks on Tuesday, buoyed by political uncertainty in the U.S. and abroad.

Gold for September delivery closed up 0.5% at $1,272.60 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest level since mid-June.

The gains come a day after President Donald Trump ousted his communications director after only 10 days. Anthony Scaramucci was removed from the post on Monday, becoming the seventh major administration official to leave in Mr. Trump's first six months.

The political turbulence has unnerved some investors and spurred demand for gold, a popular haven during uncertain times.

Rising tensions between the U.S. and North Korea, Russia's expulsion of U.S. diplomats and a deepening political crisis in Venezuela are also rattling nerves, said George Gero, managing director at RBC Capital Markets.

"When you see unrest grip the world, you're going to get an up move in gold," Mr. Gero said.

At the same time, consumer prices were flat in June from the prior month and annual inflation remained well below the Federal Reserve's 2% target, data showed Tuesday. Lukewarm inflation bolsters the case for the Fed to raise rates at only a gradual clip in coming months, a boon for gold, which struggles to compete with yield-bearing investments when rates rise.

In base metals, copper for September delivery was recently down 0.4% at $2.8810 a pound.

Write to Ira Iosebashvili at ira.iosebashvili@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 01, 2017 17:32 ET (21:32 GMT)