Gold prices retreated below $4,100 per ounce on Thursday, unwinding the prior day’s advance as intensifying geopolitical risks in the Middle East propelled crude oil prices upward and spurred renewed anxieties regarding inflation. Heightened security risks in Saudi Arabia, including a fatal drone attack on an Aramco facility, amplified apprehensions concerning potential supply chain disruptions. Concurrently, expectations for a Federal Reserve policy pause next week remained largely consistent, notwithstanding indications of a softening in the US housing sector. A depreciating dollar provided constrained support to bullion, as investors also anticipate forthcoming policy pronouncements from the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan. In the domestic market, MCX December gold futures decreased approximately 1% to Rs.144,899 per 10 grams.