Gold inched up on Friday, after stabilizing above the bullish trend line. The yellow metal is currently looking to hold above SMA (9) on the four-hour timeframe to head towards resistance levels of $5213 then $5260. Conversely, if the price falls below the aforesaid indicator, it may test the support levels of $5026 then $4972.

Gold prices rose on Friday, rebounding from a more than 1% drop in the previous session, as investors ‌sought safe-haven bullion on heightened uncertainty over a widening Middle East conflict.

Market Watch

Iran threatens, US holds firm

Geopolitical risks are still not subsiding. In fact, there could be a risk of escalation, given the fact that the recent interview by Iranian foreign minister stating that the Iranian forces are ready for a ground invasion by the U.S. or even Israel.

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.

Trump: U.S. must help pick Iran’s next leader

U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that the United States must be involved in choosing the next leader of Iran and said it would be “wonderful” if Iranian Kurdish forces based in Iraq were to cross into Iran to launch attacks on security forces there.

Trump said in a ‌telephone interview that he thinks the next leader of Iran is unlikely to be the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son, who has emerged as a frontrunner to succeed his father, who was killed in a military strike at the start of the war.

Dollar steady as jobless claims unchanged

The U.S. dollar held broadly steady on Friday and was poised for its steepest weekly gain in more than a year as the escalating conflict in the Middle East drove demand for safe-haven assets.

In the same vein, the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits was unchanged in the week ended Feb 28.

The US Department of Labor reported on Thursday that initial claims for state benefits remained at 213,000, slightly below economists’ expectation of 215,000.

Looking Ahead

Markets are gearing up for key U.S. data releases today at 13:30 GMT, with primary focus on the monthly non-farm payrolls report.

The U.S. economy may have added 58,000 jobs in February, down from a job-gain of 130,000 January, economists have predicted. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate is tipped to remain unchanged at 4.3%.