Gold fell to near $4,030, pressured by rising oil prices and interest rate concerns.
Gold fell to near $4,030, pressured by rising oil prices and interest rate concerns.
2026-07-24
Shafaq News – Erbil
Gold continued its decline on Friday, after falling two percent in the previous session, as the return of Brent crude prices to above $100 a barrel fueled concerns about inflation and reinforced expectations of a US interest rate hike ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting next week.
Gold prices fell 0.4 percent in spot trading to $4,030.09 an ounce, down more than $130 from a two-week high reached on Wednesday. U.S. gold futures for August delivery also fell 0.4 percent to $4,033.20.
Gold is on track to achieve a slight weekly gain of 0.4 percent.
Brian Lan, managing director of GoldSilver Central, said, “In the short term, we expect more volatility… Gold has been trading in a range of roughly $3,980 to $4,170, and has been stuck in that range for weeks. Every time prices approach or dip slightly below the $4,000 level, we see big buyers come back and push the price up again.”
US President Donald Trump threatened Iran and its Houthi allies on Thursday with “major military punishment” after the Yemeni group attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
Brent crude rose 7 percent at settlement on Thursday, breaking above the $100 per barrel mark for the first time since May in one of the biggest gains since the start of the war.
The rise in crude oil prices is raising concerns about inflation and the possibility of interest rates remaining high for an extended period. While gold is traditionally seen as a hedge against inflation, it loses its appeal as a non-yielding asset when interest rates are high.
Markets are also focused on next week’s Federal Reserve meeting, and the US central bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged, but traders see an almost 81 percent probability of a rate hike in September, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
The European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged as expected on Thursday, but left the door open for a rate hike in September.
As for other precious metals, silver fell 0.7 percent in spot trading to $57.29 an ounce, but is on track for a weekly gain of 2.5 percent.
Platinum fell 1.3 percent to $1,579.49, and palladium dropped 1.5 percent to $1,237.50, both on track for weekly losses.
shafaq.com
