XAU/USD holds below $2,400 on Fed hawkish comments, eyes on geopolitical risks

• Gold price trades on a softer note near $2,385 on Monday. 
• The hawkish shift in market sentiment could dampen demand for yellow metal. 
• The rising conflict between Israel and Iran might lift the gold price. 

Gold Price (XAU/USD) attracts some sellers around $2,385 on Monday during the early Asian trading hours. The hawkish comments by Federal Reserve (Fed) officials have capped the precious metal’s upside. However, the escalating tensions in the Middle East might boost safe-haven assets like gold. 

The probability that the US Fed will keep interest rates unchanged this year is rising. New York Fed President John Williams said last week that another rate hike isn’t his base case, but if the data are telling the Fed to hike to achieve its goals, then the Fed would obviously want to do that. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said that inflation progress had “stalled” and the Fed’s current restrictive policy is appropriate. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic emphasized that the Fed wouldn’t cut rates until the end of the year. The hawkish shift in market sentiment could diminish the appeal of non-yielding metals and weigh on the gold price. 

Geopolitical tensions between Israel and Iran intensified in recent weeks. A suspected Israeli attack on an Iranian consulate in Syria earlier this month was followed by Iran’s retaliatory attack on Israel on April 13. Iran and Israel seem to have stepped back from the brink of a broader conflict as lawmakers in the US approved new Israeli military aid on Saturday. However, investors will monitor the developments surrounding the Middle East conflict. The rising tension in the region could boost the gold price, and traditional safe-haven assets.