Gold rises on easing inflation concerns; markets eye key US data

March 11 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Wednesday as a retreat in oil prices eased inflation worries, while investors awaited a slew of U.S. economic data this week to gauge the Federal Reserve's policy outlook.

FUNDAMENTALS

Spot gold XAU= rose 0.4% to $5,213.99 per ounce, as of 0109 GMT. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 for April delivery fell 0.4% to $5,221.80.

The U.S. and Israel pounded Iran with what the Pentagon and the Iranians on the ground called the most intense airstrikes of the war, despite global markets betting that President Donald Trump will seek to end the conflict soon.

The war has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas, stranding tankers for over a week and forcing producers to halt output as storage fills, driving energy prices soaring.

The U.S. military "eliminated" 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

Oil prices eased, cooling inflation concerns, a day after Trump predicted a quick end to the war with Iran, while the International Energy Agency proposed the largest ever oil release from strategic reserves, according to a report.

Markets are now awaiting the U.S. consumer price index for February, due later in the day, and the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index - the Fed's preferred inflation gauge - on Friday.

Spot silver XAG= rose 0.6% to $88.89 per ounce. Spot platinum XPT= gained 1% to $2,221.48 and palladium XPD= rose 1.5% to $1,679.73.