Gold futures spiked higher suddenly Wednesday morning after reports raised concerns about the state of the economy. A shooting near the nation’s capital involving members of Congress also added to fears, sending investors into the safe haven trade.
Source: FactSet
The move happened immediately after retail sales and the consumer price index (CPI) — a key inflation metric — came in weaker than expected. Retail sales fell 0.3 percent last month, marking their biggest drop in 16 months, while CPI declined 0.1 percent in May.
After the move, gold was about 1 percent higher at $1,280.90 per ounce. Futures were lower earlier.
Gold’s move higher also followed news that House Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise was shot in Virginia and is in stable condition.
Two U.S. Capitol Police officers were also shot, according to NBC. Several congressmen and at least two senators were present, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told MSNBC. They were practicing for a bipartisan charity baseball game set to take place on Thursday at Nationals Park.
—CNBC’s Jacob Pramuk contributed to this report.