Gold fell for a third consecutive trading day as renewed Middle East hostilities drove oil prices higher and increased expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this month. Spot gold was down 0.1% at $4,352.14 per ounce by Wednesday morning Singapore time after falling as much as $14.58, or 0.33%, to $4,341.41 during Asian trading. Its three-session decline reached 2.6%. The U.S. military destroyed five Iranian crude tankers near Kharg Island after attempted Iranian missile attacks on U.S. warships, while Iran reported attacks on tankers, U.S.-linked vessels and U.S. military assets. Iran-backed Houthis also targeted Saudi Aramco facilities and claimed an attack on an air base in Khamis Mushait. Brent crude briefly reached $99.46 per barrel and WTI crude rose to $93.03, reviving inflation concerns. Interest-rate swap pricing put the probability of a Federal Reserve rate hike at roughly 60% before its September 15–16 meeting, up from about 50% before the latest jobs data. August payrolls increased by 162,000 and unemployment remained at 4.1%, while the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.8%, reducing gold's appeal as a non-yielding asset. Traders are now focused on Thursday's Producer Price Index and Friday's Consumer Price Index (CPI), which analysts say could determine whether gold breaks out of its current range around $4,350 to $4,400. U.S. stocks also declined broadly, although energy and some semiconductor shares showed relative strength, while silver fell and the dollar index edged lower.