Johannesburg

GOLD rallied to the highest in almost five months, breaking through a key technical level, after the US launched a missile strike against Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria after his government was said to have used poison gas to kill civilians.

As part of a rush to haven assets such as oil and the yen, gold climbed as much as 1.4 per cent to US$1,269.46 an ounce by 10:45am in London, the highest since Nov 10. It broke through the 200-day moving price average, indicating upwards momentum. The metal is heading for a fourth consecutive weekly rise and has climbed 10 per cent this year.