The Azadi gold coin on Tuesday rebounded from a three week low driven by gold’s four day rally as safe haven demand increased on falling stocks.
Azadi regained its upward momentum following weeks of decline as rumors that Iran had reached a breakthrough deal were denied by officials, leading to a surge in foreign exchange prices versus the rial.
Benchmark Azadi went up 1.27 percent to 9,930,000 rials by 13:54 GMT on Tuesday, following gold’s Monday night gains in the international market.
Equities plummeted to a 15-month low of 67,471 in Tehran on Tuesday, down 1.12 percent for the day.
Gold hit a three-week high on Tuesday as sliding oil prices knocked stock markets and concerns simmered over Greece’s future in the euro zone, prompting investors to seek out bullion as a safe store of value, Reuters reported.
European shares resumed their sell-off after Monday’s slump, with energy stocks declining as oil prices fell 3 percent to new 5-1/2 year lows.
That prompted investors to buy assets perceived as offering safety, such as US and German government bonds, the Japanese yen and gold, offsetting the negative impact on the metal of a stronger dollar.
Political uncertainty in Greece has also renewed fears of a possible Greek exit from the euro zone ahead of the country’s elections on Jan. 25. Spot gold was up 0.4 percent at $1,208.30 an ounce at 12:44 GMT, having earlier touched a peak of $1,214.40, its highest since Dec. 16. The metal rose 1.3 percent on Monday.
Despite gold’s gains the DXY dollar index which weighs the greenback against a basket of major currencies, remains near its strongest in five years, making gold’s rebound even more significant for users of other currencies. The DXY was up 0.15 percent to a record high of 91.5370 by 13.57 GMT on Tuesday.
US gold futures for February delivery were up $4.40 an ounce at $1,208.40. Gold priced in euros hit its highest since Sep. 2013 at 1,019.15 euros an ounce, benefiting from a 0.3 percent drop in the euro versus the dollar.
Holdings in the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Shares, rose 0.25 percent to 710.81 tons on Monday, though they remained near a six-year low.
CAPTION: Benchmark Azadi went up 1.27 percent to 9,930,000 rials by 13:54 GMT on Tuesday.
