Friday’s advance signals that gold buyers were little moved by the ratcheting tensions in the Middle East. ADVERTISEMENT CONTINUE READING BELOWGold isn’t reacting strongly to the flare-ups because its early-week rally wasn’t entirely driven by de-escalation, said Justin Lin, an analyst at Global X ETFs. On another front, gold-backed exchange-traded funds in China racked in more inflows this week, extending the longest such streak since March. ADVERTISEMENT: CONTINUE READING BELOWStill, rate-hike bets continue to be a near-term headwind for gold, which doesn’t pay interest. Spot gold rose 1.1% to $4 284.33 an ounce at 2:32 p.m. in Singapore.