Gold bars are on display at the Korea Gold Exchange in this Feb. 18, 2019, photo. Yonhap

The trading volume of gold in Korea jumped sharply this month amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, data showed Saturday.

The daily trading volume of gold in the country came to 16.9 billion won ($12.25 million) as of Friday, according to the data from the Korea Exchange (KRX), the country's bourse operator.

The reading marks a sharp increase from a daily average of 6.86 billion won for March.

Such an increase follows tensions in the Middle East, prompted by Iran's recent drone and missile attacks against Israel that apparently forced investors to seek safe assets.

Israel reportedly staged retaliatory attacks against Iran this week.

As of Friday, the average price of a 1-kilogram gold bar jumped 10.3 percent month-on-month, with that of 100-gram nuggets spiking 13.4 percent, according to the KRX.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), on the other hand, dipped 5.6 percent over the cited period.

"The instability in the Middle East is expected to remain at a heightened level for the time being, causing fluctuations in global oil prices and prompting investors to avoid risks," Samsung Securities researcher Yoo Seung-min said. (Yonhap)