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Gold and silver prices continued their upward trend on Thursday morning as investors shifted towards safe-haven assets amid ongoing Middle East military conflict and tensions in Eastern Europe.

The 24K gold price was trading at Dh623.25 per gram when the markets opened on Thursday morning, up from the previous night’s close of Dh619.25 per gram, representing a gain of Dh4 per gram.

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Similarly, prices of 22K, 21K, 18K, and 14K gold inched up to Dh577.0, Dh553.25, Dh474.25 and Dh370.0 per gram, respectively, according to Dubai Jewellery Group data.

Spot gold was trading at $5,174.17 per ounce, up 1 per cent. Silver was 1.85 per cent higher at $84.6 (Dh310.7) per ounce, according to goldprice.org data.

The Middle East military conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran entered its sixth day on Thursday.

Analysts believe that a prolonged conflict could push oil prices higher, resulting in an increase in inflation worldwide.

Meanwhile, demand for safe-haven assets such as gold could see higher demand amid geopolitical uncertainty.

Joseph Dahrieh, managing director at Tickmill, said investors remained focused on the evolving geopolitical landscape, which continues to reinforce gold’s appeal.

“Tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East could continue to drive investors toward safe-haven assets. However, the heightened risks surrounding the Strait of Hormuz have driven crude prices sharply higher. The latter fuelled concerns about persistent inflation and affected the monetary policy outlook, pushing back the expected timing of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. In this regard, Treasury yields moved higher across the curve, strengthening the US dollar and weighing on gold,” he said.

“Investors now turn their attention to upcoming US data, including services activity and labour market indicators, which could further reshape expectations for Fed monetary policy and inject fresh volatility into gold markets. Stronger-than-expected figures could pressure gold prices, while softer data could drive the market up,” added Dahrieh.

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