(Bloomberg) — Gold steadied, as traders weighed prospects for a negotiated settlement to the war in Iran that’s disrupted global energy supplies and heightened inflation risks.
Bullion was near $4,830 an ounce in early trading, having lost 0.2% in the previous session. US Vice President JD Vance is heading to Pakistan for the next round of talks, while Iran is also sending a delegation after saying earlier that it was hesitant to participate, according to people familiar with the plans. US President Donald Trump said a two-week ceasefire is due to expire on “Wednesday evening Washington time.”
Oil prices slipped on Tuesday, after US equities fell on Monday from record highs. Now in its eighth week, the war in the Middle East has triggered an unprecedented energy-supply shock that has intensified inflationary pressures, making central banks more likely to hold interest rates steady or even raise them — a headwind for non-yielding bullion. Gold has lost nearly 9% since the conflict began in late February.
Investors will also be watching Trump’s pick to head the Federal Reserve later Tuesday when Kevin Warsh maps out his plans before the Senate Banking Committee. Any sense that Warsh will push for monetary easing this year would likely support bullion, while greater caution around inflation — and a reluctance to cut rates — would be negative for gold.
In a nod to concerns about the Fed’s future, Warsh will vow to protect the central bank’s independence in his prepared remarks, according to a copy viewed by Bloomberg News.
Spot gold edged up 0.2% to $4,831.17 an ounce at 6:10 a.m. in Singapore. Silver was 0.4% higher at $80.05 an ounce. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a gauge of the US currency, ended the previous session down 0.1%.
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