Gold Surges Past $5,300 Per Ounce... Safe-Haven Assets Rally Again [US-Iran War]

Due to the war between the United States and Iran, safe assets such as gold and the US dollar are surging. However, US Treasury bonds have actually declined (with US Treasury yields rising) as a result of inflation. Analysts believe this reflects concerns that expectations for a US benchmark interest rate cut may recede due to rising inflation.

Yonhap News Agency

According to Investing.com, as of 10:00 a.m. on March 3, the price of US gold futures had risen by $53.61 (1.01%) from the previous trading day to $5,365.21 per ounce. Similarly, silver futures jumped more than 2%, surpassing $90 per ounce. The dollar also strengthened. At the London ICE Futures Exchange, the dollar index-which reflects the value of the dollar against six major currencies-stood at 98.62 just before the close of the New York Stock Exchange, up 1% from the previous trading day.

The outbreak of war between the US and Iran is seen as prompting investors to flock to safe assets. This trend is fueled by President Donald Trump's statement that he will take as much action as necessary against Iran, as well as Iran escalating the conflict by attacking the energy infrastructure of other Middle Eastern countries. As the war intensifies, investor sentiment is shifting even more toward safe assets.

In contrast, Treasury bond prices plummeted. According to Investing.com, at the close of the New York Stock Exchange on March 2 (local time), the yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds rose to 4.04%, up 0.08 percentage points from the previous trading day. The yield on 30-year US Treasuries also increased by 0.05 percentage points to 4.68%. The sharp rise in oil prices has fueled concerns about inflation in the US. As a result, worries have grown that the US Federal Reserve's benchmark interest rate cut could be further delayed.

Sev Barker, Chief Market Strategist at Marshall Wace, explained to the Financial Times (FT), "We are witnessing that, in a risk-averse environment, bonds are no longer acting as a hedge, while gold continues to fulfill that role."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.