OREANDA-NEWSThe price of gold with immediate delivery on the basis of trading on the London Metal Exchange on Monday, June 24, increased by 1.4%, to $ 1,439.21 per ounce. The previous time gold was so expensive in May 2013. On Tuesday morning, the precious metal was trading at $ 1,428.3 an ounce. “The current price hike is the result of a change in expectations for the US rate and an escalation of tensions between the US and Iran”, said Vitaly Nesis, Polymetal’s second-largest gold mining company in Russia, to the Russian media.

On June 24, US President Donald Trump imposed regular sanctions on Iran, this time the restrictions touched Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A new round of conflict between Iran and the United States began after last week Iran hit an American reconnaissance drone that, according to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, invaded the country's airspace. But in the United States they then stated that there was no American drone in Iran’s airspace.

In addition to geopolitical tensions, gold prices have been spurred by statements by the US Federal Reserve System (FRS) and other central banks about the likely reduction in the base interest rate. Investors, waiting for the weakening of the dollar, began to transfer savings to exchange-traded funds (ETF), secured by physical gold, as well as invest in gold futures and options. World central banks have also increased their purchases of gold. As of June 14, Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves rose to $ 504.5 billion, a rise over the week amounted to $ 1.8 billion (0.4%), according to the Bank of Russia website. This is the maximum value since March 2014.

However, Maxim Khudalov, director of the corporate ratings group at ACRA, believes that due to increasing tensions in geopolitics and the global market, the price of gold may rise above $ 1,500 per ounce. A senior analyst at BCS, Oleg Petropavlovsky, added that the goal of $ 1,600 per ounce of gold is achievable, “if Trump continues to put pressure on Iran and fight with China”.