• Gold extends its rally from Fed Chair Powell’s speech on Friday as Middle East tensions ratcheted up over the weekend. 
• The precious metal was already rallying after the Fed chair’s speech signaled the beginning of a lower interest-rate regime. 
• Technically, XAU/USD resumes its overall uptrending bias and edges towards its next target at $2,550.  

Gold (XAU/USD) trades up into the $2,520s on Monday, as a combination of safe-haven demand sparked by rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and increased confidence US interest rates will track lower in the medium-to-long term, make the non-interest paying asset more attractive to investors. 

Gold edges higher as risk aversion helps safe-haven demand

Gold trades higher on Monday as geopolitical risk aversion increases investor demand for safe-havens, of which Gold is a notable example. 

Rising tensions in the Middle East are a factor, after the Israelis launched a mass pre-emptive strike on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon over the weekend. Hezbollah then retaliated with a hail of missiles and drone strikes in northern Israel. Fears Iran could enter the conflict after weeks of threats also persist.