Middle East conflict raises inflation expectations, gold approaches' ten consecutive declines': liquidity squeeze dominates short-term trend BlockBeats News: On March 24th, against the backdrop of the ongoing escalation of the Middle East situation, the chain reaction triggered by soaring energy prices is suppressing the precious metal market. Spot gold fell about 2% during trading, although it briefly rebounded above $4400 before the European session, it is still in a weak range overall. If it closes down again on the same day, it will set a record for the 10th consecutive trading day of decline. Market analysis indicates that the current downturn in gold is not due to the failure of traditional logic, but rather a typical dominance of "liquidity squeeze". With the rise in oil prices driving up inflation expectations, investors are forced to sell high liquidity assets, including gold, to make up for losses or margin requirements in other assets such as stocks and bonds. This kind of behavior of "selling high-quality assets to fill the gap" is more common in extreme volatility environments. Previously, Trump announced the postponement of the strike on Iran's power grid, briefly providing support for gold prices, but then Iran released a strong signal, coupled with news that US allies may be involved in the conflict, further exacerbating market uncertainty. Meanwhile, the obstruction of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz further amplifies the risk of energy supply. Institutional views generally believe that gold will continue to be under pressure in the short term. Standard Chartered Bank pointed out that it is not uncommon for gold to experience a 4 to 6-week correction after intense market volatility; According to Swiss analysis, in major crises, gold is often used as an "ATM" to quickly liquidate and meet liquidity needs. From the perspective of historical experience, whether it is the financial crisis in 2008 or the initial stage of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, gold has experienced a similar periodic callback after the risk aversion has heated up. Despite short-term price pressures, analysts generally believe that the long-term logic supporting gold - including geopolitical risks, global inflationary pressures, and continued central bank increases - has not fundamentally changed.