Gold range bound as Fed and Iran uncertainty cloud sentiment

Gold futures hovered near the $4,500 per ounce mark in Friday?s electronic session, with bullion heading for a largely unchanged weekly performance as traders refrained from taking aggressive positions amid lingering geopolitical and monetary policy uncertainty. The dollar index remained firm near 99.3, close to its strongest level in six weeks, after the latest FOMC minutes reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve could still keep the door open for further rate increases if inflation fails to moderate toward the 2% target. The stronger greenback continued to weigh on precious metals sentiment. Meanwhile, markets closely monitored developments in US-Iran negotiations after Tehran acknowledged limited progress in talks, although unresolved disputes surrounding uranium reserves and Strait of Hormuz tolls continued to dampen optimism for a final agreement. On the domestic front, MCX June gold futures slipped 0.3% to Rs 1,59,068 per 10 grams, with prices confined to a narrow band amid the absence of a decisive global trigger.

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