ASIA (Reuters): Gold rose to near a one-month high on Friday and was headed for a seventh straight month of gains, supported by geopolitical tensions after the United States and Iran extended nuclear talks, while softer U.S. Treasury yields further boosted bullion.
Spot gold was up 0.8% at $5,230.56 an ounce by 01:38 p.m. ET (1838 GMT), hitting its highest level since January 30 earlier in the session. Prices have climbed 7.6% so far in February. U.S. gold futures for April delivery settled 1% higher at $5,247.90.
"There's a lot of nervousness surrounding geopolitics, you have all the set-up for a high probability of a military operation over the weekend, so it's a risk-off in a flight to safety," said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures.
The U.S. and Iran made progress in Thursday's nuclear talks, mediator Oman said, but hours of negotiations ended without a breakthrough that could avert possible U.S. strikes amid a major military buildup.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem also permitted non-emergency staff and families to leave Israel citing safety risks.
U.S. 10-year Treasury yields slipped to a three-month low, making non-yielding gold more attractive by lowering its opportunity cost.
Gold's next likely upside target is $5,450, with key support near $5,120, Streible said.
Data showed that U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in January, suggesting inflation could pick up in the months ahead.
Markets are pricing in about a 42% chance of a 25-basis-point U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut in June, as per the CME FedWatch tool.
Elsewhere, top consumer China's net gold imports via Hong Kong in January rose by 68.7% from December, Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department data showed. China's central bank moved to curb the yuan's rise by removing risk-reserve rules for forex forwards, encouraging more dollar buying.
Spot silver rose 4.8% to $92.60 an ounce, on course for a 9.7% monthly gain. Spot platinum climbed 3.4% to $2,350.34 an ounce, while palladium fell 0.5% to $1,775.31. Both metals were headed for monthly gains. -- Reuters
