Ammon News - Gold prices held steady on Wednesday, as investors watched ‌out for developments in the Middle East amid rising inflation fears and awaited upcoming US economic data.

Spot gold was unchanged at $4,485.17 per ounce by 0319 GMT, after rising over 1% in ​the previous session. U.S. gold futures for August delivery slipped 0.1% to $4,513.60.

"The market ​is now looking at the possibility that this ceasefire with ⁠Iran may not hold even though Trump is going to push for a ​peace deal resolution," said Kelvin Wong, a senior market analyst at OANDA.

"If we ​start to see further escalation, that could also dampen whatever recovery that gold might have had."

Gulf hostilities flared anew on Wednesday, with the U.S. military saying Iranian missile attacks on ​Bahrain, Kuwait and other regional targets were either thwarted or failed.

U.S. Secretary of ​State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump's negotiating team has not offered ‌Iran sanctions ⁠relief in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and insisted that any sanctions relief was tied to Tehran giving up its nuclear programme.

Oil prices rose more than 1% in early trade on Wednesday, deepening concerns over inflation ​and interest rate hikes.

Although ​gold is typically ⁠viewed as a hedge against inflation, it tends to lose its appeal as a non-yielding asset when in a ​high interest-rate environment.

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack said on ​Tuesday the ⁠U.S. central bank may need to raise interest rates soon should already-high inflation pressures continue to mount.

Investors are now awaiting the U.S. nonfarm payroll data, due later ⁠in the ​day, and employment report due on Friday to gauge ​the Fed's monetary policy path.

Spot silver fell 0.1% to $75.01 per ounce, platinum lost 0.2% to $1,933.15, while palladium gained ​0.2% to $1,372.25.

Reuters