(Bloomberg) — Gold fell as efforts to resume peace talks between the US and Iran remained at an impasse, two months into a war that’s upended global markets and raised inflation risks.
Bullion slipped below $4,700 an ounce on Monday after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump had convened a meeting of national security officials to discuss an Iranian proposal. The comments followed reports that Tehran proposed an interim deal whereby it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for Washington ending its naval blockade.
Also this week, the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and peers in Japan, the UK and Canada are scheduled to set interest rates. The energy-supply shock has added to inflation risks, raising the likelihood that central bankers will keep rates steady for longer or even hike them, a headwind for non-yielding bullion. The precious metal has lost about 10% since the conflict began at the end of February.
While a fragile ceasefire largely held over the weekend, Trump on Saturday called off a planned trip by special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Islamabad for round two of negotiations with Iran. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his nation won’t enter “imposed negotiations under threats or blockade.”
“The ‘ceasefire-on/ceasefire-off’ headline roulette has conditioned the market,” Nicky Shiels, head of research and metals strategy at MKS PAMP SA, wrote in a note. In gold, “conviction is thin, larger allocations remain sidelined, physical is mixed, and ‘lost’ is probably the most honest word for where the market is right now.”
Spot gold fell 0.6% to $4,682.08 an ounce as markets closed on Monday in New York. Silver lost 0.3% to $75.51 an ounce. Platinum and palladium each fell 1.5%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0.1%.
–With assistance from Jack Ryan.
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