Spot gold was up 1% at $1,503.60 per ounce, as of 0601 GMT. Prices had dipped 1.2% in the previous week on hopes that an end to the US-China trade tiff could be near.
US gold futures rose 0.8% to $1,511.40 per ounce.
The attacks on Saudi oil installations have lead to a rotation of interests out of stocks and into safe-havens, said OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley.
The risk-averse sentiment in the market underpinned the bullion, often seen as an alternative investment during times of political and financial uncertainty.
With escalating tensions in the Middle East and hopes of more stimulus measures from major central banks, the next target for gold will be $1,530, Halley added.
Investors also await the outcome of the US Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan's policy meetings on Wednesday, for signals on their future policy path.
"Accommodative monetary policy by global central banks will support bullion's appeal for 2H 2019," Phillip Futures analyst Benjamin Lu said in a note.
Spot gold could retest resistance at $1,524 per ounce, as it has temporarily bottomed around a support at $1,480, said Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.