Silver

Higher rates and a stronger US currency are negative for bullion as it pays no interest and is priced in the greenback

Meanwhile, higher crude oil prices can stoke inflation, increasing the likelihood of higher interest rates

The conflict has kept energy prices elevated, dimming hopes for interest-rate cuts by central banks, a negative for non-yielding bullion

Bullion is set for a second monthly decline in April, as the conflict in the Middle East sends energy prices soaring

Investors expect the Fed to hold interest rates steady at the end of its two-day meeting, ending later in the day

The standoff has reduced daily transits via the strategic waterway to near zero, choking off flows of crude, natural gas and oil products

The probe has ensnared a broad group of traders dealing in copper, aluminium and silver in Shanghai, according to several affected parties

In the Middle East, the effective closure of Hormuz has disrupted around a fifth of the world’s oil flows

Now in its eighth week, the conflict has triggered an unprecedented energy-supply shock that has heightened inflation risks