Gold prices rose on Thursday amid Middle East tensions and optimism over a U.S. interest rate cut, as traders awaited economic data for clues on the path the U.S. Federal Reserve will take.
Safe-haven spot gold rose 0.3% to $2,389.42 an ounce by 0331 GMT, while U.S. gold futures fell 0.2% to $2,428.40.
Longer-term market fundamentals appear supportive of gold, including geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the downward trajectory of U.S. Treasury yields, said Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst for Asia-Pacific at OANDA.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that Iran would not remain silent over the aggression, amid fears of a wider conflict in the region after the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields fell, making non-yielding bullion more attractive. The dollar also fell.
Institutions including JPMorgan and Citigroup expect the US central bank to cut interest rates by 50 basis points in September after the US jobs report for July, which was published last week, was surprisingly weak.
Low interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
The market will be awaiting the new jobless claims data, due to be published at 1230 GMT.
Among other precious metals, silver rose 1% to $26.84 an ounce. Platinum rose 0.1% to $920.40. Palladium gained 1.2% to $892.75.
