Gold holds losses as Iran impasse keeps rate hike bets high

[SINGAPORE] Gold held a decline as a lack of progress in reopening the Strait of Hormuz continued to fuel concerns over inflation and increase bets that global central banks may hike interest rates.

Bullion was trading around US$4,480 an ounce, after falling almost 2 per cent on Tuesday (May 19). Price pressures stemming from the Iran war helped fuel a sell-off in global bond markets, with Treasury 30-year yields climbing to a level last seen on the brink of the global financial crisis in 2007.

US President Donald Trump threatened to resume strikes on Iran in the coming days as part of a push to end the war, less than a day after saying he had just called off a US attack. The Republican-led US Senate signalled its opposition to extending the conflict in a procedural vote on Tuesday.

High energy prices have stoked inflation fears, raising the risk that the Federal Reserve and other central banks may need to keep rates elevated rather than deliver the cuts investors had expected before the US and Israel launched their war on Iran. Lower rates benefit gold, which does not carry interest.

Gold has traded in a narrow range since falling sharply in the early days of the conflict as inflationary fears were moderated by the possibility of monetary easing on growth concerns. Bullion is down 15 per cent since the war erupted.

Silver slumped 5 per cent on Monday on the growing concerns over inflation, after climbing to nearly US$90 an ounce last week on optimism around artificial intelligence-related equities and demand for metals used in data-centre infrastructure. The white metal is down 21 per cent since Feb 27.

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Gold extends gain as hopes for Iran truce ease inflation fears

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Spot gold was little changed at US$4,480.55 an ounce as of 6.26 am in Singapore. Silver was 0.2 per cent higher at US$73.89. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a gauge of the US currency, ended the previous session up 0.4 per cent. BLOOMBERG