Gold remains steady as traders assess the economic impact of the war in the Middle East

Gold prices remained largely steady on Friday, after falling more than 1% in the previous session, as investors remained on the sidelines assessing the impact of a widening conflict in the Middle East on the global economy.

RAW MATERIALS

Spot gold held steady at $5,076.09 an ounce as of 01:16 GMT. US. Gold futures for April delivery rose 0.1% to $5,084.50. * The dollar fell slightly, making dollar-priced bullion cheaper for holders of other currencies.

* On the sixth day of the war, Iran launched a series of attacks on Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

* US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Admiral Brad Cooper, who leads US forces in the Middle East, said the US has sufficient ammunition to continue its bombing campaign indefinitely.

* The US-Israeli military campaign against Iran launched on Saturday has hit targets across the country and prompted Iranian retaliation.

* Global energy prices soared as the war disrupted supplies and shipping, prompting some major Middle Eastern producers to cut output.

* Precious metals, traditionally seen as a safe haven, are up about 18% so far this year, hitting back-to-back record highs amid heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty. * US. data on Thursday showed initial jobless claims remained unchanged last week, while layoffs fell sharply in February.

* According to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, markets expect the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates steady at the end of its two-day meeting on March 18.

* Investors now await the US employment report for February, due later today. * Spot silver rose 0.1% to $82.26 an ounce. Spot platinum rose 0.1% to $2,124.05, while palladium rose 1.1% to $1,639.78.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

1230 US retail sales MM January

1330 U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls February

1330 US unemployment in February

1330 US Average Earnings YY Feb