SHFE closed from Feb. 916 for Lunar New Year holidays
Israel attacks Rafah city after rejecting Hamas truce proposal
Palladium will be the harder hit due to limited uses ANZ
Gold loses 0.3 so far this week

Feb 9 Reuters Gold prices were flat on Friday, with China markets closed for the Lunar New Year break, while a firmer U.S. dollar countered safehaven demand fuelled by Middle East tensions.

Spot gold held its ground at 2,032.70 per ounce, as of 0755 GMT. Bullion has declined 0.3 so far in the week.

U.S. gold futures were flat at 2,048.40 per ounce.

China39;s Shanghai Futures Exchange is closed from Feb. 9 until Feb. 16 for the Lunar New Year holidays.

Some stress in U.S. regional banks, Chinese new year demand and Middle East tensions put a floor on the metal, Hugo Pascal, a precious metals trader at InProved, said.

Concerns lingered about the Middle East as Israeli forces bombed areas in the southern border city of Rafah after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a Hamas truce proposal.

The dollar index and 10year Treasury yield were both set for a weekly rise.

Focus will shift next week to a U.S. consumer price index report after Federal Reserve officials said they would hold off on cutting interest rates until they had more confidence that inflation was headed down to 2.

Traders have pared bets for a May interest rate cut in the U.S.

Spot palladium prices fell below those of sister metal platinum for the first time since April 2018 on Thursday….