Prices of gold in Japan leaped to 16,078 yen (about 167 U.S. dollars) per gram on Friday, marking a historic high for the second consecutive trading day.
It came after retail gold prices surpassed 16,000 yen per gram for the first time on Wednesday, latest data released by Japan's largest gold retailer showed.
With gold prices soaring, the country's gold market is experiencing a vibrant surge.
The manager of a gold shop located in Tokyo stated that the number of customers inquiring about gold transactions has increased by 20 to 30 percent compared to the same period last year.
Among them, some customers are seeking to offload large gold items that they have cherished at home for many years, taking advantage of the current high prices.
The recent record highs in Japan's retail gold prices are primarily attributed to the uncertain outlook of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies as well as the escalating tensions in the Middle East, which have heightened investor risk aversion and led funds to flow into gold, viewed as a safe-haven asset.
Japanese media outlets noted that if the yen exhibits a trend of depreciation in the foreign exchange market, it will further drive up gold prices.
Investors in the gold market are closely monitoring future exchange rate trends in conjunction with the monetary policies of the U.S. and Japan.
Gold prices hit record high in Japan
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip continue to face a terrible humanitarian situation, said spokespersons from several United Nations agencies on Friday, citing difficulties in evacuating patients and the ongoing Israeli blockade of humanitarian aid.
Speaking via video link at a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Margaret Harris, spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO), stressed that local medical workers are doing their utmost to treat the injured despite severe shortages of medical supplies.
She underscored that many patients are in urgent need of medical treatment outside Gaza.
"So far we've only had 255 patients in total evacuated since 18 March, and as I said last week, more than 10,000 patients, including approximately 4,500 children, need urgent medical care outside Gaza," said Harris.
At the same time, Gaza is increasingly facing shortages of basic supplies. Israel blocked the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza on March 2, following the end of the first phase of a January ceasefire deal with Hamas. It resumed attacks on Gaza on March 18.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the UN and its partners have 9,000 truckloads of vital supplies ready to move into Gaza. More than half of these contain food assistance, months' worth of food for millions of people.
Though Israel has said its blockade aims to prevent Hamas from using aid supplies for military purposes, OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke called the legitimacy of this claim into question. "I received this morning of some of the aid that's waiting just outside the borders to get in. It includes educational supplies, children's bags, shoes -- size three to four years old and up to 10 years old, stationery and toys, rice, wheat flour, canned beans, eggs, pasta, various sweets, tents, water tanks, cold storage boxes, breastfeeding kits, breast milk substitutes, energy biscuits, shampoo and hand soap, floor cleaner. I ask you, how much war can you wait with this?" he said.
More than 53,000 people in Gaza have died since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out in October 2023.
UN agencies warn of humanitarian disaster in Gaza amid aid blockade, evacuation challenges
