Gold ‌held steady on Thursday, as rising hopes of a U.S.-Iran peace deal countered fears of inflation and higher-for-longer ​interest rates.

Spot gold was down 0.2% at $4,534.69 per ounce, as of 0258 GMT. Bullion gained more ​than 1% ​on Wednesday after falling to its lowest level since March 30 earlier in the day.

U.S. gold futures for June delivery were steady at$4,536.70.

U.S. President Donald Trump ⁠said on Wednesday negotiations with Iran were in the final stages but warned of further attacks unless Iran agreed to a deal, adding that Washington could wait a few days to "get the right answers."

Sentiment improved "after Trump's remarks stating that both the U.S. and Iran ​are kind of ‌reaching the final ⁠stages of peace deal ⁠agreement," said Kelvin Wong, a senior market analyst at OANDA.

However, "the overall trend of 10-year U.S. Treasury ​yield since the start of early March is still in ‌a medium-term uptrend phase. Hence, gold bulls may not ⁠be so aggressive of beating up prices at this juncture," he said.

U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose 0.3%, increasing the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold.

Gold has fallen more than 14% since the Iran war began in late February, as elevated oil prices fuelled inflation risks and fears of interest rates staying higher for longer. Non-yielding gold tends to benefit when interest rates are lower.

Markets are increasingly pricing in possibilities of the Federal Reserve tightening monetary policy this year, with a 39% chance of a 25 basis-point ‌hike expected in December, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Minutes ⁠of the Fed's April meeting showed a majority of policymakers ​felt "some policy firming would likely become appropriate" if inflation stays persistently above the central bank's 2% target.

Gold prices are expected to remain weak in the upcoming sessions with resistance seen at $4,645 ​levels and support ‌at $4,456 levels, said Wong.

Spot silver was down 0.8% at $75.40 per ⁠ounce, platinum lost 0.7% to $1,936.10, and ​palladium fell 0.4% to $1,365.12.

(Reporting by Noel John in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)