Gold prices rise

The demand for gold as a safe investment is increasing as the war situation in the Middle East intensifies. As a result, gold prices increased in the international market on Thursday. However, the pace of price increase is somewhat limited due to the strong position of the US dollar and uncertainty surrounding the US interest rate policy.

Spot gold prices rose by 0.6 percent to $5,168.43 per ounce at 2:55 am on Thursday (March 5), Bangladesh time. At the same time, the price of US gold futures for April delivery rose by 0.9 percent to $5,179.20.

Meanwhile, Israel carried out a major attack on the Iranian capital Tehran on Thursday. Israel claims that various infrastructure of the Iranian authorities were targeted in the attack. Iran also fired missiles at Israel in response.

Hamad Hussein, climate and commodity market analyst at UK-based research firm Capital Economics, said that the demand for gold as a safe investment may increase due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. However, if the price of energy products remains high for a long time, the possibility of reducing interest rates may decrease and, conversely, there may be a fear of increasing interest rates. That is why a larger increase in the price of gold may be limited.

Meanwhile, the value of the US dollar has also increased due to instability in the global market due to the impact of the war situation. Although it has fallen slightly from its three-month high, the dollar index rose by about 0.3 percent on Thursday.

Oil prices are also rising due to concerns about energy supply in the global market, which is further increasing the fear of inflation. Gold is generally considered a safe investment as a long-term protection against inflation. However, when interest rates are low, the price of gold is seen to increase more, because it is an interest-free asset.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday officially nominated former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh as the next chairman of the US central bank, the Federal Reserve.

On the same day, the Federal Reserve said in its latest 'Base Book' report that economic activity in the United States has increased slightly in recent weeks, commodity prices have continued to rise and employment conditions have remained fairly stable.

Market analysts believe that the Federal Reserve is likely to keep interest rates unchanged at its meeting on March 18. This information was reported by CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Meanwhile, investors are watching the US weekly jobless claims data and the February employment report to be published on Friday, which could provide new clues about interest rate policy this year.

On the other hand, spot silver prices in the metal market rose 0.5 percent to $83.80 per ounce. Platinum prices rose 1.1 percent to $2,172.20. However, palladium prices fell 0.7 percent to $1,662.7.

Reuters news.