Analysts: Safe-haven demand offsets pressure from high interest rates, causing gold prices to fluctuate higher.

Gold prices rose, approaching the $5,200 per ounce mark, as continued conflict in the Odaily East boosted demand for safe-haven assets. New York gold futures rose 0.8% to $5,175.20 per ounce. An analyst from ING stated, "The inflationary impact of the Middle East conflict, through a significant increase in energy prices, could reinforce market expectations that interest rates will remain high for a longer period, which is a negative factor for non-interest-bearing assets such as gold. However, high geopolitical uncertainty continues to support risk premiums, and despite the challenging interest rate environment, it still helps to solidify the price floor." (Jinshi)