TOKYO: Retail prices of gold in Japan hit a record high for the first time in about three weeks on Monday, aided by safe-haven buying reflecting the escalating conflict between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel.

At Tokyo-based major precious metal seller Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K., the day’s tax-inclusive retail gold prices stood at 10,233 yen per gram, up 262 yen from Friday.

Yen-denominated gold prices rose sharply also on the back of a surge in New York gold futures, regarded as a global benchmark, late last week.

Between late September and early October, gold prices declined on speculation of continued monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve.

But investors are recently “buying back gold as a safe-haven asset amid the worsening Middle East situation,” a commodity analyst said.

On the Osaka Exchange, run by Japan Exchange Group Inc., or JPX, the key gold futures contract, currently for August 2024 delivery, surged in the small hours of Saturday to temporarily hit a record high of 9,262 yen per gram.

JIJI Press