Gold holds steady as traders gauge economic impact of Middle East war

FUNDAMENTALS

Spot gold held its ground at $5,076.09 per ounce, as of 0116 GMT. ‌U.S. gold ⁠futures for ⁠April delivery were up 0.1% at $5,084.50.

* The dollar edged lower, making greenback-priced bullion less expensive for holders of other currencies.

* On the sixth day of war, Iran launched a series of attacks on Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

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* U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Admiral Brad Cooper, who leads U.S. forces ⁠in the ‌Middle East, said that the U.S. has enough munitions to continue its bombardment indefinitely.

* The U.S.-Israeli military campaign against ⁠Iran launched on Saturday has struck targets across the country and triggered Iranian retaliation.

* Global energy prices soared as the war disrupted supplies and shipping, prompting some major Middle Eastern producers to cut production.

* Bullion, traditionally viewed as a safe-haven asset, has risen about 18% so far this year, notching successive record highs amid heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty.

* ‌U.S. data on Thursday showed initial jobless claims unchanged last week, while layoffs dropped sharply in February.

* Markets expect the Federal Reserve to ⁠keep interest rates steady at the end of its two-day meeting on March 18, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

* Investors now await the U.S. employment report for February, due later in the day. * Spot silver edged 0.1% higher to $82.26 per ounce. Spot platinum inched up 0.1% to $2,124.05, while palladium rose 1.1% to $1,639.78.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

1230 US Retail Sales MM January

1330 US Non-Farm Payrolls February

1330 US Unemployment Rate February

1330 US Average Earnings YY February