Gold settles above $5,300

April gold futures settled up 1.21%, or $63.7, at $5,311.6 an ounce

Gold rose at Monday’s close, topping $5,300 an ounce, as investors sought safe-haven assets on fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East, while silver slid nearly 5% amid uncertainty over the war’s outlook.

April gold futures settled up 1.21%, or $63.7, at $5,311.6 an ounce.

March silver futures fell 4.75% to $88.28 an ounce, trimming the metal’s gains since the start of the year to 25.88%.

Precious metals came under pressure from a firmer US dollar, which attracted safe-haven flows, as investors weighed the risk of higher US inflation driven by rising oil prices following US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Tensions escalated further as Israeli air operations expanded to include strikes on Lebanon in response to attacks by Hezbollah.

US President Donald Trump signaled that more attacks could be imminent, referring to a “big wave” without elaborating. He said the Iran operation could last four to five weeks and that the United States had the capacity to continue much longer.