Breaking: Gold Falls Below $5,000 as Oil-driven Inflation Fears Weigh

• Gold price slumps to near $4,980 in Monday’s early Asian session. 
• US officials said Iran war is expected to end within next few weeks.
• Rising oil prices could lead to prolonged inflation and potentially higher interest rates, weighing on the Gold price.

Gold price (XAU/USD) tumbles to around $4,980 during the early Asian session on Monday. The precious metal faces some selling pressure despite intense geopolitical conflict in the Middle East. Traders will closely monitor the developments surrounding the United States (US)-Israel war with Iran. 

The US President Donald Trump administration said that they expect the conflict in Iran to come to an end within weeks or “sooner.” Meanwhile, Israel’s military noted that it plans for its campaign to continue for at least three more weeks.

Over the weekend, US forces targeted every military site on Kharg Island, a critical Iranian oil export hub. Iran has threatened to retaliate against any US-linked oil facilities in the region. 

Although war is generally expected to boost the Gold price, the current growing tensions have led to an increase in oil costs. This, in turn, has fueled concerns about inflation and led markets to believe that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will delay cutting interest rates, which is negative for non-yielding gold.