Gold slips despite escalating US-Iran conflict as Dollar strengthens
LONDON (March 6) Gold (XAU/USD) edges lower on Friday, trimming earlier gains as a broadly stronger US Dollar (USD) and rising US Treasury yields continue to weigh on the non-yielding metal. At the time of writing, XAU/USD is trading around $5,089 after reaching a daily high near $5,143 during the Asian trading session.
Gold under pressure as markets scale back Fed rate cut bets amid rising Oil prices
The yellow metal remains on track for its first weekly loss in five weeks, even as the conflict between the United States (US) and Iran shows no signs of de-escalation, keeping geopolitical risks elevated.
The war has entered its seventh day, with the US-Israeli forces intensifying airstrikes on Tehran. At the same time, Iran continues to launch retaliatory missile and drone attacks against US military bases across the Gulf.
However, Gold has struggled to attract safe-haven flows as investors increasingly focus on the potential economic fallout, with rising Oil price fueling global inflation concerns. Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi has warned that a halt in Gulf energy exports could push crude prices as high as $150 per barrel.
This has prompted traders to scale back expectations for Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate cuts, lending support to the US Dollar and Treasury yields while increasing the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding metal.
Markets are now pricing in roughly a 30% chance of a 25 bps rate cut in June, down from more than 40% a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank noted that total easing priced in for 2026 has slipped to around 40 bps by December, the lowest level so far this year.
US jobs report in focus
Looking ahead, market attention shifts to the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report, due at 13:30 GMT. A stronger-than-expected reading could reinforce expectations that the Fed will keep interest rates higher for longer. Economists expect the US economy to add 59K jobs in February, after a surprise increase of 130K in January.
The US economic docket will also include the Retail Sales report and speeches from several Fed officials, which could provide further clues on the monetary policy outlook.
FXStreet
