Gold futures are staying pressured, lingering near $5000 per ounce as uncertainty surrounding the monetary policy announcement by major central banks this week is dominating the intense geopolitical conflict in the Middle East. Over the weekend, US forces targeted every military site on Kharg Island, a critical Iranian oil export hub. Iran has threatened to retaliate against any US-linked oil facilities in the region. Oil related inflation concerns and central bank’s policy actions that could follow are not auguring well for the yellow metal. Currently, the counter is quoting at $5015.50 an ounce, down 1% in early Asia today. Last week, the metal registered a weekly decline of more than 1% and marking a second straight weekly loss.