gold prices extended gains friday, driven by fresh political uncertainty in the u.s. gold for december delivery closed up 0.6% at $1,282.10 a troy ounce on the comex division of the new york mercantile exchange. prices rallied further in aftermarket trading and were recently up 1%. the federal bureau of investigation said it has uncovered new evidence in its investigation of democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton <u+2019>s email server and is reviewing evidence in connection with a probe that had been previously closed. the news boosted prices for the precious metal, a popular safe haven during political or economic turbulence. <u+201c>something like this, right before the election, definitely creates lots of uncertainty,<u+201d> said bob haberkorn, a broker at rjo futures. <u+201c>this was the fresh news that gold needed.<u+201d> gold prices reversed losses earlier in the session after a report showing the u.s. economy grew at its fastest pace in two years during the third quarter. on one hand, the stronger-than-expected numbers bolstered the argument for the federal reserve to raise rates in coming months. gold struggles to compete with yield-bearing investments such as treasurys when rates rise. at the same time, however, some market participants believe stronger growth may be a harbinger of rising consumer prices. some investors buy gold on expectations that inflation will accelerate, as they believe the metal holds its value better than other assets. <u+201c>investors have got inflation and the election on their minds,<u+201d> said ira epstein, a strategist at the linn group. while expectations of a rate increase in december will likely limit gains, <u+201c>gold doesn<u+2019>t look like it has much downside from here,<u+201d> he said. federal-funds futures, used to bet on central-bank policy, on friday showed that investors assigned a 73.6% likelihood of a rate increase in december, up from around 50% in the middle of last month. write to ira iosebashvili at ira.iosebashvili@wsj.com
gold pops higher on news of clinton investigation - wsj
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