Gold Market

Under the influence of the strengthening dollar and rising expectations of interest rate hikes, last Thursday gold prices fell by 2.2%, with the spot price reaching $4,651.35 per ounce, marking a two-week high during the day. U.S. gold futures declined by 2.8% to $4,679.70 per ounce. President Trump stated that he would continue attacks on Iran and promised to "push" the country back into the "Stone Age," but did not specify when the war would end, which led to rising oil prices and increased inflation expectations, thereby limiting the room for central bank rate cuts. Additionally, over the past two weeks, Turkey's central bank gold reserves sharply decreased by more than 118 tons, with a reduction of 69.1 tons last week to 702.5 tons — to mitigate the impact of the war on the market. On the demand side, the decline in gold prices contributed to the emergence of a premium in gold trading in India for the first time in two months. Regarding other precious metals, spot silver plummeted by 3.7% to $72.38, platinum rose by 0.9%, and palladium increased by 1.9%.