CHICAGO, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rebounded on Friday as equities fell and Syria tensions persist.
The most active gold contract for June delivery went up 6 dollars, or 0.45 percent, to settle at 1,347.90 dollars per ounce.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 74.86 points, or 0.31 percent as of 1705 GMT. When equities post losses, the precious metal usually goes up, as investors will look for a safe haven.
Still, the safe haven demand was mostly boosted by the tensions over Syria. President Donald Trump has been reviewing his military options in Syria while the United States continued its military buildup in the eastern Mediterranean.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday warned of the danger of a full-blown military escalation in Syria. The UN chief urged all sides to prevent things from spiraling out of control.
Also on Friday, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard downplayed the significance of recent inflation data for monetary policy. He claimed that the minutes of the March Fed policy meeting was incorrectly summarized as "all participants" found the need for more rate hikes.
Bullard's comments offered additional support to the precious metal.
As for other precious metals, silver for May delivery went up 18.5 cents, or 1.12 percent, to settle at 16.658 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July fell 1.7 dollars, or 0.18 percent, to close at 933.10 dollars per ounce. Enditem
