Gold Eases From Record Levels
2026-03-11 12:52
By
Joana Ferreira
1 min. read
Gold edged lower to around $5,180 per ounce on Wednesday as investors assessed escalating tensions in the Middle East alongside fresh US inflation data and their implications for the policy outlook of the Federal Reserve.
The US and Israel launched some of the heaviest airstrikes of the conflict on Iran, while the war has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, pushing oil prices higher and raising concerns about renewed global inflation pressures.
As a result, markets worldwide have scaled back expectations for interest rate cuts from major central banks.
Meanwhile, US CPI data showed that inflation held steady at 2.4% in February, before the outbreak of the Iran war.
The Fed is widely expected to keep rates unchanged next week, with markets pricing in only one 25-basis-point cut this year, possibly in September.
Despite the pullback, gold has surged more than 20% this year, hitting successive record highs amid heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty.