Gold will probably continue to find it hard to climb lastingly above the $2,000 mark – assuming there is no escalation in the Middle East – as further Fed rate hikes have become a little less likely but are not yet off the table entirely.

Interest rate expectations could be quickly driven up again, thereby weighing on the Gold price, especially if the US economy proved persistently resilient. Today’s US labor market data could trigger such a market reaction if they turn out once again to be more buoyant than anticipated.