Investors pushed gold above $1,800 per troy ounce for the first time since September on the latest twists in the eurozone debt crisis.
Tuesday’s focus centred on Italy, with its bond yields hitting euro-era highs and Silvio Berlusconi, prime minister, under pressure as his governing party lost its majority in parliament. Gold rose as high as $1,801.91, climbing more than $5 and adding to a sharp $42 gain on Monday.
“The upwards pressure on Italian bond yields and concern generally for peripheral EU countries has increased the demand for safe haven assets and gold has benefited from that,” said James Steel, precious metals analyst at HSBC in New York.