Gold holds a particularly exceptional status among precious metals. Whilst it does have some use in the manufacturing of consumer durables and electronic products ranging from alloy compounds in wedding rings to terminals for connecting electrical cables in audio equipment, its greatest use case is as an investment vehicle for the purposes of storing value in a physical commodity.

Over recent years, other precious metals such as platinum and cobalt have suddenly seen their status change from that of a rare mineral resource to a material in high demand as they form components used in electric vehicle batteries and other renewable energy-related hardware such as solar panels.

However, despite the sudden huge demand for these materials for industrial purposes, gold still remains a de facto investable metal whose price movements are often affected by global affairs rather than supply and demand.

In the latter part of this month, gold reached a record high, according to World Gold Council data, and was trading at $2427.30 on May 21.

That soon took an opposite turn, and by May 26, FXOpen pricing showed gold to be trading at well under the $2,400 mark.

Today, as the trading week begins, gold prices are beginning to be discussed by commentators and analysts as one of the factors that have historically influenced the price of gold has advanced further, that being geopolitical turmoil and, in this case, the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

The incursion into the city of Rafah in the southern section of Gaza on the border of Egypt, along with the United States and UN forewarning and reaction associated with such a military operation, may well have created a sentiment leaning toward greater instability within the region, a potential escalation of the war and impact on those supplying weapons to facilitate it.

Gold prices have started to rise again this morning, with spot gold trading at $2343.34 by 7.30 am on the FXOpen charts.

In the 1950s, antiquities researchers in Israel found bars of gold hidden behind the walls of homes built by Arab residents who had fled the area. Perhaps the electronic trading of gold during such times is the modern equivalent of protecting wealth during conflicts.

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