Escalating tensions between the United States and Iran are pushing investors toward safe-haven assets, with gold drawing renewed demand as equities and crypto markets face pressure.
Iran reportedly increased crude exports to 20.1 million barrels between Feb. 15 and Friday, roughly triple January levels, as a hedge against potential disruption if geopolitical risks intensify.
Analysts at Bitunix said a direct US-Iran conflict could lift gold by about 15% within two weeks, targeting a range of $5,500 to $5,800 per ounce from its current level near $5,172.
Safe-haven flows into the US dollar could pressure Bitcoin toward the $64,000 to $65,000 range, though inflation-driven hedging could alternatively push prices back toward $69,000 liquidity levels, according to the same analysts.
Indian investors are accelerating the shift into gold, with ETF inflows reaching approximately 250 billion rupees or $2.7 billion, surpassing equity mutual fund inflows for the first time.
Gold ETF demand in India has surged more than 900% since July as stock-fund inflows dropped by about $1.9 billion, marking a structural shift in capital allocation for one of the world’s largest gold-consuming markets.
Onchain data from Glassnode shows Bitcoin remains range-bound between $60,000 and $70,000, with weak whale accumulation and persistent ETF outflows limiting upside momentum.
Although US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $506.5 million in daily inflows on Wednesday, nearly 9.2 million BTC remain held at a loss, underscoring cautious sentiment despite episodic rebounds.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $67,869.05.