Gold holds biggest jump in two months on Iran peace-deal hopes

GOLD was steady, after jumping the most in two months on Monday (Nov 2) as hopes of a breakthrough in US-Iran peace talks sent oil prices plunging and eased anxiety over accelerating inflation. 

Bullion traded above US$3,950 an ounce, after climbing 1.9 per cent in the previous session. Oil was flat after tumbling more than 7 per cent on Monday as the Iranian president said his government has been granted more authority by the country’s supreme leader to pursue negotiations, while US President Donald Trump hinted at progress in the discussions. 

The Middle East war — now in its ninth month — has sent energy prices and inflation surging, putting pressure on central banks to raise borrowing costs, which is negative for gold as it doesn’t pay interest. 

The precious metal slumped 6.8 per cent in October, breaking decisively below the US$4,000 an ounce threshold at the end of the month to hit a one-year low. It was caught up in a retreat from artificial intelligence last week, prompting investors to liquidate bullion holdings to cover losses elsewhere.

That’s left gold vulnerable to further declines, as Asian tech stocks headed for more losses on Tuesday after a selloff in US chipmakers deepened. 

US voters head to the polls on Tuesday for the midterm elections, with the results potentially driving moves in bullion on Wednesday in Asia. 

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Spot gold rose 0.2 per cent to US$3,954.52 an ounce as of 8.18 am in Singapore. Silver was up 0.3 per cent at US$50.77, after rising more than 3 per cent on Monday. Platinum and palladium edged higher.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a gauge of the US currency, was steady after falling 0.3 per cent over the previous two sessions. BLOOMBERG