Gold Reaches 1-Week High

North Korea’s foreign minister said Monday that a weekend tweet from US President Donald Trump was being viewed as a declaration of war on his country.  Furthermore, he issued a warning that Pyongyang reserved the right to retaliate, including shooting down US fighter jets even if they were outside the country’s air space.

On Sunday, the US had said it had included North Korea to its list of countries that were banned from entering the country. XAUUSD is currently hovering around the $1309 per ounce area after having broken above the key psychological level of $1300 in the previous trading session on greater than average volumes. $1314 represents the immediate upside resistance, a close above which could see fresh buyers enter the market and accelerate the move higher.

Data from the Ifo Institute's monthly survey, which was carried out prior to Sunday's general election, showed Business sentiment in Germany fell in September, as companies slashed their outlook. The German think tank’s business climate index declined to 115.2 from 115.9 in August. The survey, which is conducted across 7,000 companies, showed that German firms were less upbeat about their current condition and lowered their short-term outlook.

However, the index remains in positive territory, providing Europe's largest economy with a “strong tailwind” per Ifo President Clemens Fuest.  As the country enters a new legislative period, Angela Merkel will now be forced to cobble together a ruling coalition to keep her CDU party in power, potentially threatening the economic outlook with more uncertainty if progress is sluggish.  DAX 30 futures closed Monday at 12560, just below key resistance at 12650.