MOSCOW, March 3. /TASS/. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East could drive gold prices to historic highs, with the price of the precious metal likely to climb to $6,000 per troy ounce, Boris Krasnozhenov, head of securities market analysis at Alfa Bank, told TASS.

Amid rising inflation expectations gold remains a proven inflation hedging instrument, he said. The expert predicts that if the conflict escalates, the price of gold could breach $5,600 an ounce, with a possible further rise to $6,000.

The gold price dynamics will largely depend on how the situation in the Middle East develops, Krasnozhenov added. "Under a prolonged conflict scenario assuming disruption of transportation routes and physical damage to oil and industrial infrastructure, prices for energy and other raw materials may be expected to grow," he said.

The escalation and involvement of new states increases the level of uncertainty, while gold remains the main protection asset, the expert said, adding that Dubai is a major hub for gold trade, and disruption of air service may create a shortage of physical metal.

BCS World of Investments analyst Nikolay Maslikov also stressed the influence of geopolitical factors on the market. "Amid rising tensions in the geopolitical situation prices of gold futures may grow, though it is difficult to project whether they will remain at maximum levels as the price of metal currently contains a large speculative component," he added.

According to Maslikov, the average price of gold may total $4,824 per ounce in 2026, while silver will follow gold with greater volatility.

The price of gold futures contracts for April 2026 delivery on the Comex exchange (a division of the New York Mercantile Exchange) was up above $5,400 per troy ounce on March 2 for the first time since January 29. By 6:18 p.m. Moscow time (3:18 p.m. GMT) on the same day, the price of gold had fallen to $5,335 a troy ounce.