Gold prices moved little in Asian trade, hovering well below recent record highs as investors remained largely biased towards the dollar before more cues on the Federal Reserve and inflation. 

The yellow metal saw limited safe haven demand amid some expectations of a Israel-Hamas ceasefire, especially as the U.S. now appeared to be making a greater effort to broker a deal. The Biden Administration reportedly suspended arms exports to Israel over its attacks on Rafah.

Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday after data showed U.S. crude stockpiles fell last week as refiners slowly ramped up output ahead of the summer driving season, while a stronger dollar capped gains.

Brent crude oil futures settled 42 cents, or 0.5%, higher at $83.58 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 61 cents, or 0.8%, to $78.99 a barrel.

The U.S. dollar edged higher Thursday, trading in a tight range ahead of next week’s all-important U.S. inflation data, while the pound slipped ahead of the Bank of England’s policy-setting meeting.

At 04:35 ET (08:35 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.2% higher at 105.605, rebounding after last week’s one-month low.

The U.S. dollar edged higher in early European trade Tuesday, attempting a comeback after the sharp losses at the end of last week, while the Japanese yen retreated despite more intervention threats.

At 04:35 ET (08:35 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.12% higher at 105.090, after falling as low as 104.52 on Friday, the lowest level for just under a month.

Oil prices settled lower on Friday, and posted their steepest weekly loss in three months as investors weighed weak U.S. jobs data and possible timing of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.

Brent crude futures for July settled 71 cents lower, or 0.85%, to $82.96 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for June fell 84 cents, or 1.06%, to $78.11 a barrel.

The U.S. dollar retreated from near six-month highs after Fed Chair Jerome Powell confirmed the central bank's easing bias, raising the likelihood of a more aggressive dollar selloff ahead. However, Barclays still sees the potential for more dollar upside.

“Parts of the market worry that - like in late 2023 - the bar is too high for further dollar strength. We argue this time things are quite different,” analysts at Barclays said, in a note dated May 1.

2024 has seen gold prices surge to new record levels, with the yellow metal exceeding $2,400 an ounce last month due to increased global demand amid economic and geopolitical uncertainties.

Remarkably, strategists at Goldman Sachs believe there’s even more upside room for the safe-haven metal, saying it could potentially exceed $3,000 by year’s end. 

Oil prices fell Monday, as fresh peace talks between Israel and militant group Hamas in Cairo cooled bets of a wider conflict in the Middle East disrupting supplies.

At 14:15 ET (18:15 GMT), Brent oil futures fell 1.3% to $87.02 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 4.6% to $82.50 a barrel. 

The U.S. dollar fell Monday ahead of the latest Federal Reserve meeting, while the yen soared amid speculation Japanese authorities have been intervening to try and stem its seemingly relentless decline.

At 04:45 ET (08:45 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.2% lower at 105.630, having climbed to 106.00 on Thursday. 

Gold prices moved little in Asian trade on Monday, seeing little relief from recent losses as traders continued to price in higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates before a Federal Reserve meeting later this week.

The yellow metal tumbled from record highs hit earlier in April as safe-haven demand waned in the absence of any escalation between Iran and Israel. This left gold vulnerable to outflows in the face of restrictive U.S. monetary policy.