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(Bloomberg) -- Gold steadied on Friday, but headed for a second weekly decline as the war in the Middle East kept oil near $100 a barrel, underpinning global inflationary pressures.

Bullion inched up toward $5,100 an ounce, even as the dollar strengthened, while crude held Thursday’s rally. In another effort to ease energy prices, the White House authorized buyers to take Russian oil cargoes already at sea.

Gold has fallen about 1.6% this week, which would be the first time since November that it has declined for at least two consecutive weeks. Upward momentum has stalled since the US-Israeli war with Iran began almost two weeks ago, with no resolution in sight.

US President Donald Trump and Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, struck defiant tones on Thursday, the 13th day of a conflict that has effectively blocked shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and created the biggest-ever disruption to global oil markets.

For gold, higher energy prices and rising inflationary concerns have greatly reduced expectations that the Federal Reserve and other central banks will cut interest rates. The latest US jobless report, which showed new claims remained subdued, also lessened the chance of borrowing costs being lowered.

Traders now see virtually no chance of a rate cut at next week’s Fed meeting and only an 80% chance of a reduction this year. Higher borrowing costs are typically a negative for precious metals, which don’t pay interest.

The International Energy Agency said on Thursday that the war is creating an unprecedented supply disruption in oil markets, a day after its members agreed to release a record 400 million barrels from emergency reserves.

Bullion, however, has still gained around 18% so far this year and has largely held above the $5,000-an-ounce threshold.

“We view gold less as a direct hedge against the Middle East conflict (oil is a better hedge) and more as protection from the monetary and financial effects that wars can cause,” UBS Global Wealth Management wrote in a note. “Especially when those effects include lower real interest rates, worries about currency debasement, or concerns over elevated levels of government debt.”

Spot gold added 0.2% to $5,090.43 an ounce as of 10:07 a.m. in London. Silver fell 1.2% to $82.87 an ounce. Platinum and palladium both declined. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was on track for a weekly gain of 0.8%.