The yellow metal had little reaction to this morning’s jobs report which showed improvement for March. The private sector added 62,000 for the month in March, above the Dow Jones consensus for 39,000, according to ADP.
The sentiment drove equities Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing more than 1,100 points. The speculation came after U.S. President Donald Trump told White House reporters Tuesday that he envisions ending U.S. action in Iran in the next two or three weeks, whether or not the situation over the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has been resolved. The White House has said Trump will address the nation Wednesday evening.
June gold futures rose 2.7% Tuesday to settle at $4,678.60 an ounce on Comex, and the most-active contract climbed 3.4% in the first two days of the week. Bullion slid 11% in March after climbing 11% in February and rising 9.3% in January. It rallied 64% last year. The June contract is currently up $83.70 (+1.79%) an ounce to $4762.30 and the DG spot price is $4741.10.
Gold has tumbled from record highs since the war began as oil prices have spiked on the closure of the strait, through which about a fifth of daily global oil consumption passes. The conflict has raised the specter of a prolonged increase in inflation, threatening the global economy and prompting the possibility of interest rate increases by some central banks and the sales of gold stockpiles.
Since the war began, most investors tracked by the CME FedWatch Tool expect the Federal Reserve to keep U.S. interest rates unchanged this year, and some are now betting on a rate hike instead of the rate cut they were previously anticipating. Over 99% of the investors tracked by the tool are betting on rates staying unchanged at the next policy meeting in April. Higher interest rates are typically bearish for gold, making it a less attractive alternate investment.
Fed policymakers last month kept interest rates unchanged again at 3.50% to 3.75%. 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.
Investors will be closely watching the key U.S. monthly jobs report for March, which comes out Friday, for the latest on the labor market. It follows the private payrolls report from ADP on Wednesday and weekly initial jobless claims from the Labor Department on Thursday.
Front-month silver futures gained 6.2% Tuesday to settle at $74.92 an ounce on Comex, and the May contract rallied 7.3% in the first two days of the week. The most-active contract touched a record above $115 in January. Silver dropped 20% last month after gaining 19% in February and advancing 11% in January. It rose 141% last year. The May contract is currently down $0.094 (-0.13%) an ounce to $74.825 and the spot price is $74.83.
Spot palladium increased 4.3% Tuesday to $1,496.50 an ounce and is up 6.9% so far this week. Palladium tumbled 17% in March after gaining 8.8% in February and advancing 2.4% in January. Palladium rose 74% last year. Currently, the spot price is down $19.00 to $1473.50.
Spot platinum rose 3% Tuesday to $1,966.90 an ounce and gained 4.5% in the first two days of the week. It declined 17% in March after advancing 15% in February and gaining 1.4% in January. Platinum increased 122% in 2025. The spot price is currently down $12.60 an ounce to $1963.60.
