Gold Steady, US-Iran Negotiations Remain Vague
Gold prices remained largely unchanged on Friday (June 5), reflecting a market still struggling to gauge the direction of US-Iran negotiations to end the war that has rocked global markets. Bullion held steady around US$4,450/oz, after rising nearly 1% in the previous session.
Signals from both sides remained conflicting. US President Donald Trump said peace talks were in the "final stages," but Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there had been "no real progress" in the negotiations. This uncertainty increased after Tehran-backed Hezbollah rejected a Washington-brokered Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, casting doubt on US efforts to defuse the regional conflict.
This week also saw the most serious clashes in the Middle East since the ceasefire was agreed in early April. These conditions kept the risk premium in place, but it was not strong enough to push gold out of its recent range-bound movements.
On the fundamental side, disruptions to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz remained a major channel holding back gold's movement. Higher energy prices risk sustaining global inflation, leading central banks to maintain high interest rates for longer or even consider tightening, a situation that is typically unfriendly to gold, as it offers no yield.
Since the conflict broke out in late February, gold has fallen by around 15% and has recently been trading within a narrow range. At 7:04 a.m. Singapore time, spot gold fell 0.1% to US$4,470.10/oz, silver rose 0.1% to US$73.95, while the Bloomberg Dollar Index was relatively flat after weakening slightly in the previous session. (asd)*
Source: Newsmaker.id
