Gold gains on safe-haven demand, softer dollar

Gold rose on Thursday as the widening Middle East conflict drove investors towards the safe-haven asset, while a softer dollar also lent support to bullion prices.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was up 0.8% at $5,176.69 per ounce by 0101 GMT. U.S. gold futures for April delivery were up 1% at $5,186.30.


* The U.S. dollar edged ‌lower, making ⁠greenback-priced gold ⁠less expensive for holders of other currencies.

* The U.S.-Iran war widened sharply on Wednesday after a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka, killing at least 80 people, and NATO air defences destroyed an Iranian ballistic missile fired towards Turkey.

* The escalation came as the powerful son of Iran's slain supreme leader emerged as a frontrunner ⁠to succeed ‌him, suggesting Tehran was not about to buckle to pressure, five days after the U.S. and Israel launched a ⁠military campaign that has killed hundreds and convulsed global markets.

* Bullion, traditionally viewed as a safe-haven asset, has risen about 20% so far this year, notching successive record highs amid heightened global political and economic uncertainty.

* U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday officially nominated former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to be the U.S. central bank's next chair, the White House said, putting ‌the president one step closer to installing a rate-cut-friendly Fed chief.

* Markets expect the Fed to keep interest rates steady at the conclusion of ⁠its two-day meeting on March 18, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

* Investors now await the weekly U.S. jobless claims data due later in the day and the U.S. employment report for February on Friday.

* Spot silver rose 1.2% to $84.43 per ounce. Spot platinum added 2.1% to $2,193.65, while palladium rose 0.5% to $1,683.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0930 UK S&P GLOBAL PMI: MSC COMPOSITE - OUTPUT Feb

1330 US Import Prices YY Jan

1330 US Initial Jobless Clm 28 Feb