Gold rose to around $5,210 per ounce on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East kept markets on edge. The Pentagon said Tuesday that the US and Israel carried out their most intense attacks yet on Iran and will persist until the Islamic Republic is defeated, striking a more aggressive tone after earlier remarks by President Donald Trump suggested the conflict might end soon. US officials also delivered conflicting messages, adding to market uncertainty, with the White House saying the US had not escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, contradicting a now-deleted social media post by Energy Secretary Chris Wright. Meanwhile, markets are closely monitoring upcoming US inflation data, which is expected to remain well above the central bank’s target even before the war erupted. Traders have currently pared back expectations for policy easing by the Federal Reserve to just one rate cut this year.