Gold leaps over 1% on this morning’s news that the Strait of Hormuz is open as the yellow metal heads for a weekly gain on growing optimism over the Iran war. President Donald Trump said the U.S. was close to ending the Iran war, indicating that talks between the two countries may resume this weekend to fully end the conflict which has roiled markets, particularly in energy. The news weakened the dollar, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Iran has declared the Strait is now open to all commercial ships during the newly announced 10-day cessation of fire between Israel and Lebanon. However, President Donald Trump said the U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports remains in effect, meaning ships flagged to Iran can NOT transit the Strait.
June gold futures fell 0.3% Thursday to $4,808.30 an ounce on Comex, and the most-active contract gained 0.4% in the first four days of the week. Bullion slid 11% in March after climbing 11% in February and rising 9.3% in January. It rallied 64% last year. The June contract is currently up $79.90 (+1.66%) an ounce to $4888.20 and the DG spot price is $4881.40.
Gold has tumbled since the Iran war started in late February, as investors turned to other assets and inflationary concerns fed expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged for some time. Higher interest rates – as opposed to the rate cuts forecast for this year before the war began – are typically bearish for gold, making the yellow metal a less attractive investment than other assets.
The conflict has erased expectations that the Fed would cut interest rates this year. Most investors tracked by the CME FedWatch Tool now expect the Federal Reserve to keep U.S. interest rates unchanged until the middle of next year. Almost all the investors tracked by the tool are betting on rates staying unchanged at the next policy meeting in April.
Fed policymakers last month kept interest rates unchanged again at 3.50% to 3.75%. The Fed has kept interest rates unchanged this year after three previous rate cuts. The central bank began raising interest rates in March 2022 to fight inflation, ultimately imposing increases of by 5.25 percentage points before beginning rate cuts in 2024.
Front-month silver futures lost 1.2% Thursday to settle at $79.27 an ounce on Comex, and the July contract increased 3.7% in the first four days of the week. The most-active contract touched a record above $115 in January. Silver dropped 20% last month after gaining 19% in February and advancing 11% in January. It rose 141% last year. The May contract is currently up $3.540 (+4.50%) an ounce to $82.250 and the DG spot price is $82.35.
Spot palladium declined 0.4% Thursday to $1,575.00 an ounce and is up 2.4% so far this week. Palladium tumbled 17% in March after gaining 8.8% in February and advancing 2.4% in January. Palladium rose 74% last year. Currently, the DG spot price is up $28.70 an ounce to $1607.00.
Spot platinum decreased 1.1% Thursday to $2,105.50 an ounce and is up 2% so far this week. It declined 17% in March after advancing 15% in February and gaining 1.4% in January. Platinum increased 122% in 2025. The DG spot price is currently up $29.70 an ounce to $2137.90.
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