U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was pausing efforts to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil artery, to allow time for peace negotiations. In a social media post, he cited “Great Progress” toward a final agreement.
Investors are awaiting the release of a series of U.S. jobs reports for the latest indications on the state of the economy. They will begin Wednesday with the ADP private payrolls report for April.
June gold futures rose 0.8% Tuesday to $4,568.50 an ounce on Comex, though the most-active contract is down 1.6% so far this week. Bullion dropped 1% last month after sliding 11% in March and climbing 11% in February. It rallied 64% last year. The June contract is currently up $137.10 (+3.00%) an ounce to $4705.60 and the spot price is $4700.90
Precious metals markets have declined in recent weeks on the prospect of a prolonged conflict with Iran that would contribute to high inflation and keep interest rates elevated. Higher interest rates are typically bearish for gold, making it a less attractive alternate investment.
The Fed last week held interest rates steady at 3.5% to 3.75%, as expected, but policymakers were unusually divided. About 95% of the investors tracked by the CME FedWatch Tool are betting on rates staying unchanged again in June. The Iran war has erased expectations that the Fed would cut interest rates this year. Most investors tracked by the tool now expect the central bank to keep U.S. interest rates unchanged until the latter half of next year.
The Fed has kept interest rates unchanged this year after three previous rate cuts. The central bank began raising interest rates in March 2022 to fight inflation, ultimately imposing increases of by 5.25 percentage points before beginning rate cuts in 2024.
The ADP private payrolls report Wednesday will be followed by the latest U.S. weekly initial jobless claims data on Thursday and the key monthly jobs report for April from the Labor Department. All will likely provide important signals about the state of the economy that may drive interest rate decisions.
Front-month silver futures edged up 6 cents Tuesday to settle at $75.58 an ounce on Comex, though the July contract decreased 3.7% in the first two days of the week. The most-active contract touched a record above $115 in January. Silver lost 1.2% in April after dropping 20% in March and gaining 19% in February. It rose 141% last year. The July contract is currently up $4.089 (+5.56%) an ounce to $77.670 and the spot price is $77.30.
Spot palladium increased 1.3% Tuesday to $1,515.00 an ounce, but is down 2.3% so far this week. Palladium rose 3.2% last month after tumbling 17% in March and gaining 8.8% in February. Palladium rose 74% last year. The spot price is currently up $33.40 an ounce to $1542.50.
Spot platinum gained 0.5% Tuesday to $1,972.10 an ounce but is down 1.9% this week. It gained 1.3% in April after declining 17% in March and advancing 15% in February. Platinum increased 122% in 2025. The current spot price is up $58.90 an ounce to $2029.40.
