A woman holds a one-kilogramme gold bar at the headquarters of the Australian Bullion Company in Sydney April 19, 2013. Investors are closely watching events in Israel as a geopolitical risk to markets, with some expectation the violence could prompt a move into safe haven assets. — Reuters picNEW YORK, Oct 8 — Investors are closely watching events in Israel as a geopolitical risk to markets, with some expectation the violence could prompt a move into safe haven assets.
Rising geopolitical risk could see buying in assets like gold and the dollar and potentially boost demand for US Treasuries, which have been sold off aggressively, analysts said. “Whether this is a massive market moment or not depends on how long it lasts and whether others are sucked into the conflict,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management, of the situation in Israel. Jacobsen questioned how much impact it would have on the oil price despite Iran having been boosting output.