Gold pierced $4,100 an ounce on Friday after the United States paused overnight airstrikes on Iran, but the break proved short-lived as profit-taking and a rebounding dollar dragged prices back toward $4,070 by the European session.
Spot gold fell 0.6% to $4,076.53 per ounce as of 0253 GMT, while August Comex futures slipped 0.4% to $4,074.20, according to multiple market reports. The intraday high reached $4,111.81 before the retreat, and Thursday's settlement printed at $4,120.34 — the highest close in a week — after a 0.9% gain the prior session.
The metal is still on track for its first monthly gain in five months, up roughly 1.7% in July and about 0.6% for the week, snapping a four-month losing streak. Bargain buying near the $4,000 level has underpinned the advance, with the psychological threshold acting as a recurring floor since late June.
Geopolitics provided the immediate catalyst. The U.S. military completed a "heavy wave" of strikes against Iranian Revolutionary Guard targets on July 29, hitting dozens of sites in Khuzestan province and on Qeshm Island. Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on U.S. bases in Jordan and, on Friday, struck the Ahmad Al-Jaber airbase in Kuwait. A drone attack on gas vessels at Egypt's Damietta port also raised the specter of Suez Canal disruption, a critical artery for Saudi oil exports.