Gold rises amid fears of the expanding scope of the conflict in the Middle East

Gold prices climbed on Friday as risk aversion gripped financial markets following reports of bombings in Iran. These reports raised concerns about a potential escalation in regional tensions, bolstering gold’s status as a safe-haven asset.

By 0429 GMT, spot gold rose by 0.3 percent to $2,386.05 per ounce, after briefly reaching $2,417.59 earlier in the session. This places it near the all-time high of $2,431.29, set last Friday. Gold is poised to register gains for the fifth consecutive week, having increased by about two percent since the beginning of the week.

US gold futures also saw a modest increase of 0.1 percent, reaching $2,401.20.

Reports from three reliable sources indicated that Israel conducted airstrikes in Iran. Additionally, Iranian state media reported early Friday that Iranian forces had destroyed drones, following Tehran’s recent retaliatory drone and missile strike on Israel.

In the realm of other precious metals, silver edged up by 0.2 percent in spot transactions, reaching $28.28 per ounce, and is on track to achieve weekly gains.

Platinum rose by 0.6 percent to $938.39, while palladium settled at $1,023.09. Both platinum and palladium are poised to incur weekly losses.