PRECIOUS-Gold retreats on strong dollar, tempered rate-cut bets

* Iran war enters fourth day

* Higher energy prices amid MidEast tensions fuel inflation woes

* Silver slips nearly 7%, platinum down over 9% (Updates prices, adds graphic on silver prices)

By Ashitha Shivaprasad

March 3 (Reuters) - Gold prices drifted lower on Tuesday, weighed by a stronger dollar and dimming prospects for rate cuts as inflation concerns intensified amid fears of a potentially prolonged Middle East conflict.

Spot gold was down 3.9% at $5,121.69 an ounce as of 1640 GMT. Prices hit an over four-week high in the previous session.

U.S. gold futures lost 3.4% to $5,132.60.

"The move lower in gold appears to be driven by a flight to liquidity - a flight to cash. We have a strong dollar and bond yields trading higher," said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.

The U.S. dollar, a competing safe-haven asset, posted sharp gains, making dollar-priced bullion less affordable for holders of other currencies, while U.S. Treasury yields rose for a second consecutive session.

"However, this dip in prices is likely to be short-lived, and flight to safety flows driven by geopolitical risk should support higher gold and silver prices," Haberkorn added.

On the geopolitical front, the Iran conflict entered its fourth day as explosions rocked Tehran and Beirut, while a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards official said on Monday the Strait of Hormuz had been closed. Crude oil benchmarks jumped over 8% on Tuesday in response.

Damage to energy infrastructure and stalled tanker traffic through Hormuz have lifted the risk of sustained strength in oil, gas and refined products, stoking inflation fears and pushing back rate-cut expectations, leaving gold with little support, said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com. Despite being considered a hedge against inflation and turmoil, gold is typically preferred in low-rate environments, as it yields no interest. Spot gold has gained over 18% so far this year, supported by global turmoil, following a 64% surge in 2025. Meanwhile, silver was up 16% so far this year.

Spot silver fell about 7% to $83.25 an ounce after climbing to a more than four-week high on Monday.

Elsewhere, platinum lost 9.5% to $2,080.95 and palladium shed 6.7% to $1,648.93.

(Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Diti Pujara)