• Gold demand increases from investors bundling into safety as geopolitical risks escalate. 
• Israel’s threat of “all-out war” with Lebanon and Russia’s signing of an alliance with North Korea are intensifying concerns. 
• XAU/USD recovers and reaches a cross-roads level, bringing its ongoing bearish pattern into question. 

Gold (XAU/USD) price awakens from its slumber on Thursday, gaining a sprightly half a percent to trade in the $2,340s, and finds itself at a technical crossroads that could define the directional trend for the rest of the summer. The market mood is placid going into the European session, with Asian bourses showing either mild gains or tepid losses. That said, Gold sees gains from safety demand as the geopolitical global threat level lights up another bar and global powers move their chess pieces across the world’s strategic chequered board.