Gold rate today: Yellow metal slips below ?1.60 lakh level. Is it the right time to buy amid US-Iran war?

                  Gold prices have slipped below the psychological ?1.60 lakh in India amid no signs of of de-escalation in the US-Iran war. Gold prices in India continued to decline, putting the metal on track for a second consecutive weekly loss as escalating tensions involving Iran, Israel, and the United States kept global markets volatile and unsettled. On Friday, MCX gold prices settled marginally lower at ?1,58,400 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, in the international front, the COMEX gold rate was hovering around $5,120/oz.
What's driving gold prices in India?
Gold’s rally has lost momentum since the US-Israel conflict with Iran began nearly two weeks ago, with no clear resolution in sight.

Donald Trump said the US had intensified strikes on Iran to unprecedented levels, signalling that the conflict — which is disrupting energy flows and global markets — is unlikely to ease anytime soon.

Meanwhile, surging energy prices and mounting inflation concerns have significantly lowered expectations that the Federal Reserve and other central banks will begin cutting interest rates.

Fresh US consumer spending data released on Friday also showed that spending barely increased in January amid weaker-than-expected economic growth, reinforcing worries that inflationary pressures were already building even before the attacks on Iran.