• Gold price attracts buyers for the fourth consecutive day and climbs to over a one-week high.
• Geopolitical risks stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict benefit the safe-haven XAU/USD.
• Elevated US bond yields underpin the US Dollar and might cap the non-yielding yellow metal.

Gold price (XAU/USD) prolongs its weekly uptrend for the fourth straight day and climbs to the $2,660 area, or a fresh one-and-half-week high during the Asian session on Thursday. Mounting geopolitical uncertainties, fueled by escalating Russia-Ukraine tensions, continue to drive haven flows towards traditional safe-haven assets and assist the precious metal to recover further from a two-month low touched last week. Bullion, which is considered a hedge against inflation, further seems to benefit from expectations that US President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariffs could spur inflationary pressures.

That said, high inflation could limit the scope of the Federal Reserve (Fed) to ease monetary policy. Furthermore, worries that Trump's debt-funded tax cuts would lead to larger budget deficits remain supportive of elevated US Treasury bond yields. This, in turn, assists the US Dollar (USD) to hold steady just below the year-to-date (YTD) peak touched last week and might act as a headwind for the non-yielding Gold price. Apart from this, the prevalent risk-on mood – as depicted by a generally positive tone around the equity markets – warrants caution before placing aggressive bullish bets around the XAU/USD.