Gold Headed For Weekly Loss As US-Iran Tensions Escalate

(RTTNews) - Gold prices traded lower on Friday and headed for a weekly loss as escalating hostilities in the Middle East rekindled inflation and interest-rate worries.

Spot gold dipped half a percent to $4,102.31 an ounce and was on track for a weekly loss of about 1.5 percent. U.S. gold futures were down 0.7 percent at $4,110.76.

Bullion is in a consolidation mode as tit-for-tat strikes between Iran and the U.S. sent oil prices surging and reinforced the probability of the Federal Reserve raising rates this year.

Markets currently price in a 63 percent chance of a September rate hike, up from around 54 percent a week earlier, according to CME's FedWatch tool.

Brent crude prices traded lower today but remained on track for a 6 percent weekly gain after the U.S. carried out strikes on 90 Iranian targets and Tehran retaliated by targeting American bases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait.

The U.S. dollar dipped after a U.S. official said the U.S. will continue "technical talks" with Iran and remains committed to finding a solution to the conflict.

Fears about a return to full-blow war subsided after President Donald Trump claimed that Iran wants to "make a deal so badly," but he doesn't know if they're worthy of making a deal.