Gold firm

Bengaluru

Gold prices held steady after touching their highest in more than two months, as rising tensions between the United States and North Korea triggered safe-haven buying.

"Much of the rally (in gold) is because of the increased safe-haven demand," said OCBC Bank analyst Barnabas Gan.

Trump warned North Korea again on Thursday not to strike Guam or U.S. allies, saying his earlier threat to unleash "fire and fury" on Pyongyang if it launched an attack may not have been tough enough.

Geopolitical risks can boost demand for assets considered safe-haven investments, such as gold.

Spot gold inched down 0.1 percent to $1,284.64 per ounce as of 0616 GMT, but was set for a weekly gain of over 2 percent.

Earlier in the session, it marked its highest since June 8 at $1,288.92 an ounce.  U.S. gold futures for December delivery was mostly unchanged at $1,290.50 per ounce.