Investors keep flocking to gold, push metal to three-month high

Gold prices climbed Wednesday for a fifth-straight session as geopolitical uncertainty ahead of European elections pushed the metal to its highest price in about three months.

Holdings in the SPDR Gold Shares ETF rose 8.3 tonnes to 827 tonnes as of Tuesday, the highest since Dec. 20.

Bullion was last up at $1,242.20 an ounce, after hitting $1,245.40 earlier in the day. This means that, so far this year, the precious metal has gained more than 8%. In contrast, the ICE U.S. Dollar Index has lost about 1.9% even though it traded slightly higher on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, holdings in the SPDR Gold Shares ETF rose 8.3 tonnes to 827 tonnes as of Tuesday, the highest since Dec. 20, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Investors remain worried about the potential implications of a French presidential election that remains too close to call. Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen is gaining momentum by vowing to take France out of the euro zone and hold a referendum on European Union membership if she wins.

At the same time, US President Donald Trump’s political agenda and his team’s comments on the undervaluation of certain currencies keep rocking markets.

Cecilia Jamasmie 2/8/2017