-- Gold traded higher early Thursday but remained rangebound below US$5,000 as high oil and gas prices threaten to boost inflation and interest rates.
Gold for May delivery was last seen up $15.60 to US$4,839.20 per ounce.
The precious metal has stuck well under its Jan. 29 record high of US$5,354.80 as the U.S-Israel war on Iran keeps the Strait of Hormuz closed, blocking the 20% of daily oil and LNG demand from Persian Gulf nations off the market, sending prices higher and promising to reignite inflation.
Further threats from U.S. President Trump to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if he stays in position after his term ends on May 15 are also again unsettling the market. Powell intends to stay in the position until his replacement, Kevin Warsh, is confirmed by the Senate. Trump said if Powell remains in the post past his term, he will try to fire him.
"The vibes are in force in many markets, gold included. With an unresolved war and tenuous ceasefire, there are still ample inflation pressures to be concerned about. Additionally, with President Trump again commenting on firing Powell, we think that the general sense of uncertainty is in the early innings of a gold-positive reappearance," Christopher Louney, a gold and natural gas strategist at RBC Capital Markets, wrote.
The edged higher early, with the ICE dollar index last seen up 0.12 points to 98.18. Treasury yields edged down, with the U.S. two-year note last seen paying 3.765%, down 0.5 basis points, while the yield on the 10-year note was down 1.1 points to 4.277%.