After seeing sharp fluctuations last week, gold prices are expected to remain volatile in the coming days as investors keep an eye on rising tensions in the Middle East and key global economic data releases, analysts said on Sunday.Market participants are likely to keep an eye on conflict developments involving Israel and Iran, as any escalation could support safe-haven demand for bullion, while signs of easing tensions could lead to sharp profit-booking in the market.“The focus will again be on developments in the Middle East. Any further upside could be positive for gold prices, but downside signals could lead to sharp selling,” Pranab Mer, vice president of commodity and currency research at JM Financial Services, told news agency PTI.Silver is also seeing heavy volatility, although it is currently in a consolidation phase, analysts said.“Silver is trading with higher volatility, but remains range bound due to consolidated movements in gold and industrial metals like copper and zinc,” Meir said.Sharp fluctuations were seen in bullion futures in the domestic market last week. On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), silver fell by Rs 14,359 or 5.08 per cent, while gold slipped by Rs 470 or 0.3 per cent.According to Prathamesh Mallya, deputy vice president, research (non-agri commodities and currencies), Angel One, gold traded in a wide range of Rs 1.59 lakh to Rs 1.70 lakh per 10 grams last week.He said geopolitical tensions, strong demand from Asian markets, continued buying by central banks, increased US Treasury yields and a strong US dollar are among the key factors currently shaping bullion prices.Globally, silver futures on Comex fell by US$8.98, or about 10 per cent, while gold prices fell by US$89.2, or 1.7 per cent, during the week.Gold ended the week in negative territory as investors turned to alternative safe-haven assets such as the US dollar, the Swiss franc and government bonds, even as ongoing geopolitical tensions helped limit deeper losses, analysts said.Investors will also keep an eye on key economic indicators in the coming week, including inflation and trade data from China, inflation readings from the US, Germany and India, as well as US consumer sentiment and personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price indices, which could impact global growth expectations and the monetary policy outlook.