Middle East war rages: US, Israel intensify airstrikes on Iran
IEA proposes largest oil release from strategic reserves-report
US February CPI data due later in the day
(Reuters) - Gold edged higher on Wednesday as inflation worries eased, while investors awaited a slew of U.S. economic data this week to gauge the Federal Reserve's policy trajectory.
Spot gold was up 0.35% at $5,207.5 per ounce. U.S. gold futures for April delivery fell 0.5% to $5,216.80.
Oil prices dropped below $90 per barrel, cooling inflation concerns, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump predicted a quick end to the war with Iran, while the International Energy Agency proposed the largest ever oil release from strategic reserves, according to a media report.
"With these (inflation) concerns having eased... hedging and safe-haven attributes (of gold) has once again come to the fore. So, I think from current levels we remain optimistic," said Nikos Kavalis, Singapore managing director of Metals Focus.
The U.S. and Israel pounded Iran with what the Pentagon and the Iranians on the ground called the most intense airstrikes of the war, despite global markets betting that Trump will seek to end the conflict soon.
The war has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas, stranding tankers for more than a week and forcing producers to halt output as storage fills, driving energy prices soaring.
The U.S. military "eliminated" 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
Bullion, traditionally viewed as a safe-haven asset, has risen more than 20% so far this year, notching successive record highs amid heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
"I think it's very likely that we'll see gold get to over $6,000 an ounce by the third or fourth quarter this year, probably even higher early next year," Kavalis said.
Markets are now awaiting the U.S. consumer price index for February, due later in the day, and the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index - the Fed's preferred inflation gauge - on Friday.
Investors expect the Fed to keep rates steady at the end of its two-day meeting on March 18, per CME Group's FedWatch tool.