Gold prices rise but remain below $4,900/oz, inflation and Iran situation uncertainty weighing

Investing.com - On Thursday during Asian trading hours, gold prices rose, recovering some recent declines, but remain well below key levels due to rate uncertainty and inflation concerns from the US-Israel conflict with Iran.

Strong US producer inflation data, combined with expectations of Federal Reserve rate hikes, pressured gold on Wednesday, pushing prices well below the closely watched $5,000 per ounce level and hitting a more than one-month low.

As of 22:13 Eastern Time (02:13 Beijing Time), spot gold rose 0.6% to $4,847.85 per ounce, while gold futures fell nearly 1% to $4,849.50 per ounce.

Subscribe to InvestingPro for more key insights on gold prices

Gold weakened because the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and expressed uncertainty about inflation impacts from the Iran conflict.

Before the Fed decision, February’s Producer Price Index (PPI) inflation data exceeded expectations.

The PPI data and Fed comments increased uncertainty about the US interest rate path, with markets betting that the central bank will not cut rates in the near term. CME FedWatch shows markets expect no rate cuts before September at the earliest.

This outlook put pressure on gold, largely offsetting safe-haven demand from the Iran conflict. Since the outbreak of the Iran war, gold has struggled to make progress, falling below the $5,000-$5,200 trading range for nearly a month on Wednesday.

Other precious metals rose slightly on Thursday but also suffered losses during recent trading sessions. Spot platinum increased 0.2% to $2,029.96 per ounce, and spot silver rose 0.9% to $76.0155 per ounce.

This article was translated with the assistance of AI. For more information, please see our Terms of Use.