On March 17, gold prices rose slightly today, but due to the continued weakening of energy prices, market expectations for further interest rate cuts have diminished, resulting in a cumulative decline of over 4% this week. Soojin Kim, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, stated that although the release of emergency oil reserves helps to curb soaring prices, the rising inflation risks have lowered market expectations for a rate cut by the Federal Reserve, and rising interest rates typically suppress non-yielding assets like gold. (Jin Shi)