Gold falls despite war tensions, spot price near 4,090 dollars

Gold prices fell on Thursday, 23 July, despite escalating military tensions between Iran and the United States. Spot gold slipped about 1 percent to roughly 4,090 dollars an ounce.

The seemingly paradoxical decline stems from the surge in oil prices. Rising crude lifts expectations of stickier inflation and pushes US Treasury yields higher, and higher yields raise the opportunity cost of holding gold, which pays no interest. Gold fell even as the dollar index eased below 101, a sign that yield pressure was the dominant factor that day.