Gold Flatlines Near $4,000 As Markets Focus On US-Iran Talks And Upcoming Employment Data

Gold price (XAU/USD) trades on a flat note around $4,015 during the early Asian trading hours on Wednesday. Traders will closely monitor prospects for US-Iran talks in Doha after mixed messages from the US and Iran underscore the fragility of an interim peace deal reached earlier this month.

CNBC reported on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump said talks between the two countries would take place in Qatar on Tuesday, claiming that Tehran had “requested a meeting” following an exchange of US airstrikes over the weekend. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry reportedly denied that talks were scheduled over the coming days.

US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Doha on Tuesday. A Qatari government spokesperson said they would meet the Qatari prime minister to discuss ongoing US-Iran talks and regional developments. Nonetheless, there are currently no high-level meetings between the US and Iran

Any signs of positive developments surrounding the peace deal could provide some support to the yellow metal. On the other hand, uncertainty or lack of progress of US-Iran talks could raise inflation worries, prompting traders to raise their bets on rate hikes and weighing the non-yielding bullion. It’s worth noting that Gold is often used as a hedge against inflation but does not yield interest, making it less attractive when interest rates are high.

Traders brace for the US ADP employment data on Wednesday and the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report on Thursday for further ‌clues on the Fed’s monetary policy stance. If the employment data show stronger-than-expected outcomes, this could support the higher-for-longer Fed stance. This, in turn, could lift the US Dollar (USD) and weigh on the USD-denominated commodity price in the near term.