Gold rose on Friday ?on bargain-hunting but remained ?on track for ?a fourth straight weekly loss, as the U.S.-Israel war with Iran stoked inflation concerns, lifted the dollar and reinforced expectations of higher interest rates.
Spot gold rose 1.1% to $4,425.39 U.S. per ounce ?first thing Friday morning. Gold was set for a ?weekly loss of 1.4% so far having touched a four-month low of $4,097.99 on Monday. U.S. gold futures for April delivery gained 1% to $4,421.30.
The U.S. has also sent thousands of troops to the Middle East, with ?Trump weighing whether to use ground forces to seize Iran’s strategic oil hub of Kharg Island.
Since ?the war began, oil prices have surged, fueling ?inflation concerns that would typically support bullion as an inflation hedge. However, higher interest rates tend to weigh on non-yielding gold.
Traders have priced out any chance of U.S. rate cuts in ?2026 and see a 40% chance of a rate hike by year-end, per ?CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. The market was expecting two cuts ?before the war began.
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