FX.co ★ Gold Set for Weekly Loss

Gold traded around $5,080 per ounce on Friday, consolidating recent losses and heading for its first weekly decline in five weeks, as a stronger US dollar and rising Treasury yields outweighed the geopolitical risk premium. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has supported safe-haven demand, but it has also driven oil prices sharply higher, stoking inflation concerns and leading traders to scale back expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts. Markets are now pricing in just one rate reduction this year, down from two earlier in the week. Recent US data reinforced the picture of resilient economic momentum, with lower jobless claims, stronger productivity, fewer announced job cuts, and faster-than-expected growth in the services sector. At the same time, the US–Israeli conflict with Iran entered its seventh day: Iran on Thursday launched missiles and drones across the Gulf, striking an oil refinery in Bahrain, while Israel continued airstrikes on Tehran and the US suspended operations at its embassy in Kuwait.