Spot Gold extended gains on Thursday, as the widening conflict in the Middle East bolstered demand for safe-haven assets.
Yet, a firmer US Dollar was capping Gold’s upside.
Israel has launched a cannonade of strikes on Tehran on Thursday, targeting infrastructure that belongs to the Iranian authorities, media reports stated.
Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index held not far from a three-month high of 99.683, as inflation fears have again taken hold, along with the possibility of fewer rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year, with oil prices rising.
A firmer dollar makes dollar-priced Gold less appealing to international investors holding other currencies.
“On the one hand, there may be greater safe-haven demand for gold given the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. On the other hand, the risk of a prolonged period of higher energy prices that takes rate cuts off the table, and adds to the chance of rate hikes, could be capping further gains,” Hamad Hussain, a climate and commodities economist at Capital Economics, was quoted as saying by Reuters.
On the macro data front, private businesses in the US have added 63,000 jobs in February, or the most since July 2025, after a revised down 11,000 job growth in January. The latest ADP figure exceeded forecasts of 50,000.
Investors now turn their attention to the weekly jobless claims and the key Non-Farm Payrolls reports.
Spot Gold was last up 0.34% on the day to trade at $5,158.31 per troy ounce.
TradingPedia.com is a financial media specialized in providing daily news and education covering Forex, equities and commodities. Our academies for traders cover 
