WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Despite hawkish comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell and a stronger dollar, Gold futures settled higher on Tuesday, extending gains to a second straight day on increased demand for the safe-haven metal amid an escalation in geopolitical tensions.
Investors pinned hopes for more interest-rate cuts despite hawkish comments by Powell, who said in remarks prepared for delivery at a National Association for Business Economics conference in Nashville, Tennessee on Monday that the risks are two-sided and the Fed will continue to make interest-rate decisions meeting by meeting.
The dollar index climbed to 101.39 this afternoon, gaining more than 0.6%.
Gold futures for October ended up by $31.20 or about 1.2% at $2,667.30 an ounce, the second highest close ever.
Silver futures for October ended higher by $0.281 or about 0.9% at $31.445 an ounce, while Copper futures for October climbed to $4.5220 per pound, gaining $0.0260 or 0.58%.
In U.S. economic news, job openings in the U.S. unexpectedly saw a modest increase in the month of August, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday.
The Labor Department said jobs openings rose to 8.04 million in August from an upwardly revised 7.71 million in July.
Economists had expected job openings to come in unchanged compared to the 7.67 million originally reported for the previous month.
On the geopolitical front, Iran launched a ballistic missile attack against Israel. Earlier, Israel said its troops entered southern Lebanon for what it called 'limited' raid but Hezbollah denied they crossed into the territory.
Earlier in the day, a senior White House official said, the U.S. has indications Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel.
'We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack. A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran,' the official said in a statement.
The attack by Iran comes after Israel launched ground operations against the Iranian-backed militia group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
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