Bullion has maintained its high momentum above the $4,600 level since Monday as the market situation now sees most investors shift their capital to safe assets amid geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
At 9.10 am, gold prices were at $4,614, down 0.27% since it opened in early trading on Thursday in the Asian session.
Geopolitical tensions in Iran continued to rise after US President Donald Trump threatened to take further action following a crackdown on protesters.
In the same development, the US reportedly mobilized military personnel, while the Iranian government warned neighboring countries not to assist any attacks on its territory.
On Tuesday, Trump canceled all meetings with Iranian officials and said that aid to the protesters was on the way, although without further details.
This situation tends to increase demand for gold as a safe asset, as investors begin to seek protection from the risk of a potential conflict.
In addition to geopolitical factors, concerns about the independence of the US Fed also supported the movement in gold prices.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell announced that the central bank had received legal notice from the Department of Justice regarding his testimony to Congress about the cost overruns of the $2.5 billion renovation project of the Fed headquarters in Washington.
Powell saw the pressure as an attempt to influence monetary policy, particularly with regard to interest rate cuts.
However, support for gold remained limited due to market expectations that the Fed will keep interest rates at current levels for the next few months. Precious metals that do not offer returns are usually affected in a high interest rate environment.
In terms of economic data, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the unemployment rate fell to 4.4% in December.
At the same time, data showed that US producer prices (PPI) rose moderately in November, while retail sales recorded a rise that exceeded expectations, thus reinforcing the picture of the resilience of the US economy.
