Gold price shines amid fears of fresh escalation in Middle East tensions

LONDON (April 18) Gold price (XAU/USD) rebounds to $2,380 in Thursday’s European session after posting losses on Wednesday. The precious metal holds gains amid fears that Middle East tensions could worsen and spread beyond Gaza if Israel responds brutally to Iran.

According to The Times, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has clarified that “their state will do everything necessary to defend itself,” according to The Times. The comments from PM Netanyahu came after his conversation with foreign ministers from the United Kingdom and Germany.

The recovery in Gold is also driven by a decline in US Treasury yields, which are influenced by the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate outlook. 10-year US bond yields edge down to 4.57% from a more than five-month high of 4.70%. Lower yields on interest-bearing assets diminish the cost of holding non-yielding assets such as Gold.

Daily digest market movers: Gold price reverses Wednesday’s losses

• Gold price recovers majority of Wednesday’s losses and rises higher to $2,380 as investors remain worried about geopolitical tensions. Traders continue to gung-ho for Gold amid fears that Israel could retaliate to Iran’s attack on their territory in which the Iranian military launched hundreds of drones and missiles.
• A correction in the US Dollar also supports the precious metal. Five-day winning streak in the US Dollar has been halted as traders expect that other central banks from developed nations will also delay their rate cut plans due to persistent price pressures. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the US Dollar’s value against six major currencies, falls sharply to 105.75. Generally, the appeal of dollar-denominated Gold improves amid soft US Dollar.
• The near-term demand for the US Dollar remains firm as Federal Reserve (Fed) policymakers see interest rates remaining higher for a longer period until they get convincing data that inflation will return sustainably to the desired rate of 2%. 
• On Tuesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said recent data has clearly not given policymakers confidence that they should start considering rate cuts. Instead, interest rates need to remain higher for longer than expected to gain that confidence.
• On Wednesday, Cleveland Fed Bank President Loretta Mester also argued for keeping the monetary policy framework restrictive. Mester remained optimistic that the Fed will eventually gain the confidence to lower interest rates and start normalising policy again, but that shouldn’t be done quickly.

FXStreet