Gold prices slipped during Friday's Asian deals, hovering near weekly lows as easing Middle East tensions and shifting risk sentiments pressured traditional safe-haven assets like bullion and the United States dollar.
By 3:05 pm AEST (5:05 am GMT), spot gold was down $16.56 or 0.5% at US$3,354.18 per ounce, extending losses after a flat performance in Thursday’s holiday-shortened session.
The retreat comes as markets respond positively to signs of de-escalation in the Israel-Iran conflict. U.S. President Donald Trump said he would give Iran a final opportunity to negotiate over its nuclear program, delaying a decision on launching strikes for up to two weeks.
With no bad news about the Iran-Israel conflict, risk-on flows lifted high-yielding assets at the expense of gold.
ANZ analysts noted: “While the impact of geopolitical events tends to be fleeting, ongoing tension tends to prevent prices from dropping very far.
"Macroeconomic developments, particularly steady yields and renewed USD strength, have not supported the price. Rising inflation expectations and the Federal Reserve’s cautious stance have weighed on market expectations around the number of rate cuts this year.
"Nevertheless, we believe a buy-on-dip strategy still holds, given the backdrop of macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty.”
Meanwhile, in the absence of major U.S. economic data, gold remains vulnerable to broader sentiment shifts and dollar moves, especially as traders return from the Juneteenth holiday and reassess the Fed's latest guidance.
