Gold hits two-week high as expanding Mideast conflict eyed
July 22, 2026
SACHFS- Gold prices touched a two-week high on Wednesday, buoyed by some technical buying, as investors kept tabs on an escalating conflict in the Middle East and looked ahead to a key Federal Reserve interest rate meeting next week.
At 09:44 ET (13:44 GMT), spot gold rose 1.8% to $4,148.67 an ounce, while gold futures gained 1.3% to $4,130.00 an ounce.
Gold’s uptick came even as oil prices once again marched higher, sustaining worries of an inflation burst that could lead central banks to lift interest rates -- a trend that can weigh on non-yielding assets like bullion.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Iran of not being serious about conducting peace negotiations on Wednesday, as Washington completed its 11th straight night of attacks on Iranian targets. The comments come as media reports have suggested that mediators are continuing to attempt to revive a diplomatic solution to the Iran conflict, which is now threatening to expand to include other parts of the Persian Gulf.
Fighting around key energy shipping routes, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, remained a focal point for markets.
Attention is also turning to next week’s Fed policy meeting, where officials are widely expected to leave rates unchanged but could reinforce a higher-for-longer message if energy-driven inflation risks persist.
Against this backdrop, the U.S. dollar has strengthened above pre-war levels, as have U.S. Treasury yields, which tend to move inversely to prices. Gold’s rebound despite a firmer U.S. dollar and rising Treasury yields suggests investors are beginning to re-establish the metal’s traditional safe-haven role as geopolitical tensions intensify, said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG.
"Gold finished higher overnight, brushing off the headwinds of a stronger U.S. dollar and rising yields," Sycamore said, adding that cleaner retail positioning may also be helping bullion regain its safe-haven appeal.
He added that IG remains cautiously bullish on gold while prices hold above the late-June low of $3,942 an ounce.
Elsewhere, spot silver advanced after jumping more than 4% in the previous session, while spot platinum has also risen.