Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,313.94 per ounce by 0359 GMT.
U.S. gold futures for June delivery were 0.1 percent higher at $1,314.10 per ounce.
• “This time around I think the rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East added some safe-haven appeal to gold,” said Helen Lau, analyst at Argonaut Securities in Hong Kong.
“A lot of counteracting forces are playing against gold so that’s why it’s trading in a very tight range,” Lau said, adding that a firm dollar and rising U.S. Treasury yields were capping upside.
• Asian stocks rose on Thursday with energy shares leading the way as crude oil prices bolted higher after U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to scrap the nuclear deal with Iran.
Dismayed European allies sought on Wednesday to salvage the deal with Iran after Trump ordered sanctions be reimposed on Tehran.
• The dollar held firm on Thursday after the 10-year U.S. bond yield rose back to the psychologically important 3 percent mark and investors looked to U.S. consumer price (CPI) data due later to show a acceleration in inflation.
Elsewhere, investors are pushing back expectations for a rise in euro zone interest rates further into 2019 against a backdrop of soft economic data and disappointing inflation numbers, money market pricing suggested.
• Spot gold looks neutral in a range of $1,302-$1,317 per ounce, said Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
• Meanwhile, in other precious metals, silver was 0.1 percent higher at $16.50 an ounce, after hitting a two-week high at $16.62 in the previous session.
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• Gold prices are stalling above rising trend support set from December 2016, now in the 1284.30-1301.92 area, with a daily close below that marking a major shift in the dominant long-term trajectory. Alternatively, a breach of former trend line support at 1315.44 paves the way for another challenge of 1323.60.
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