It is probably no coincidence then that central banks, which are known to be conservative, bought 374.1 tons of gold in the first half of 2019, says the writer. (Photo: Mark Herpel / Flickr) 
Bullion’s early-year surge builds on 2019’s 18% climb amid the specter of a direct confrontation between the U.S. and Iran. A three-ship U.S. amphibious group has been ordered to the Persian Gulf region, following the deployment of about 3,500 soldiers from the Army’s 82nd Airborne to Kuwait last week.
There are mixed signals on where prices may now go. Implied volatility on gold options -- or the likelihood prices will continue their bullish move -- jumped to the highest since mid-October, according to a measure calculated by the Chicago Board Options Exchange. However, the 14-day relative strength index remained above the level of 70 that typically suggests securities are overbought.
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Spot gold was 0.1% lower at $1,564.45 an ounce at 9:24 a.m. in Singapore after rallying to $1,588.13 on Monday, the highest level since 2013. Silver fell, while palladium was at steady $2,031.08 an ounce after reaching a record $2,032.98 on the week’s opening day.