Gold Prices Touch Two-Month High Near $4,450 Amid Ongoing Middle East Tensions

Gold prices rose to a two-month high near $4,450 in the first week of August as markets scaled back bets for a Federal Reserve interest rate hike in September.

The crisis in the Middle East remained unresolved, causing gold to correct lower and end the week virtually unchanged.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that annual inflation declined to 3.4% in July from 3.5% in June, failing to support the USD and helping Gold erase Tuesday's losses.

Analysts at MUFG noted that the US Dollar has continued to trade on a softer footing this week, encouraged by the scaling back of Fed rate hike expectations.