Gold prices climbed to the highest levels since the U.S. Presidential elections as investors seek protection from rising political risks in Europe and a pullback in the U.S. dollar.
Spot gold prices were marked 0.4% higher in London trading and changing hands at $1,254.4 per ounce, the highest since Nov. 11. The gains extend a mid-December rally to more than 11%.
Investors have been unsettled by political developments in Europe, where far right candidate Marine Le Pen continues to gain support in France's upcoming Presidential elections and Germany's ruling coalition fell to second place in opinion survey for the first time in several years.
Markets were further troubled by statements from President Donald Trump, who referred to China as the "Grand Champion" of currency manipulators just hours after his Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, suggested the government was in no hurry to formally accuse the Chinese of such activity.
Mnuchin also said that the Trump administration's tax plans would likely not be passed into law before the summer and wouldn't have an impact on the world's biggest economy until next year.
The statements trimmed gains for the U.S. dollar index, which traded 0.07% lower in London at 100.91. The index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of global currencies, has fallen 2.8 percent so far this year.
European investors are also looking more and more at gold positions now that short-term benchmark bond yields in Germany, a traditional safe-haven, are trading at a record low of -0.94%.
