Gold prices  jumped on Wednesday to a seven-month high in early 2019, the third gain in four days, based on the weakness of USD and strong investment demand on the metal as a safe haven.

Gold prices rose by 0.4% as of 11:25 GMT to trade at $ 1,287.05 per ounce from the opening level of $ 1,282.12, and recorded the highest level of $ 1,288.75 since June 15, 2018 and the lowest level of $ 1,278.76.

Gold prices lost 0.2% in late 2018, the first loss in three days, on correction and profit taking.

Over the course of December, gold prices rose by 4.7%, the third monthly gain in a row, and the largest monthly gain since June 2016, to rise in the fourth quarter of 2018 by 7.4%, in the first quarterly gain during The last three quarters.

These strong gains in the last quarter of last year, supported by the decline of the US currency against a basket of currencies, amid investors’ reluctance to risk and focus on the purchase of safe assets, led by precious metals gold and silver.

The dollar index hit a three-month low of 95.36 on Wednesday, reversing the weak performance of the greenback against a basket of major and minor currencies, especially against low-yielding currencies, the euro and the Japanese yen, favoring higher gold and other metals denominated in US dollars .

The weak performance of the US dollar came recently after 10-year US bond yields fell, amid growing speculation that the Federal Reserve will not be able to raise interest rates in 2019 due to slowing economic momentum.

Gold holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust Fund The world’s largest gold-backed index fund remained unchanged for the second day in a row, with the total remaining at 787.67 metric tons.

The fund’s holdings increased by 25.93 metric tons in December, amid mounting concerns about the global economy.