Gold prices rose in the European market on Friday, resuming gains that were temporarily halted yesterday, moving once again closer to a two-week high and heading toward recording a weekly gain, driven by renewed weakness in the US dollar amid growing hopes that the Iranian war truce will hold and that peace negotiations between the United States and Iran will continue.
With rising expectations of US interest rate cuts in the coming period, investors are awaiting later today the release of the US nonfarm payrolls report for April, which the Federal Reserve relies on heavily in determining the course of monetary policy in the country.
Price Overview
Gold prices today: Gold prices rose by 1.0% to $4,746.65, from the opening level of $4,685.77, and recorded a low of $4,678.45.
At settlement on Thursday, gold prices lost 0.1%, marking their first decline in the past three days, due to correction and profit-taking operations after earlier recording a two-week high at $4,764.85 per ounce.
Aside from profit-taking sales, gold prices declined due to renewed tensions in global markets following exchanges of fire between the United States and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.
Weekly trading
Over the course of this week’s trading, which officially ends with today’s settlement, gold prices are currently up by more than 2.5%, heading toward recording their first weekly gain in the past three weeks.
The US dollar
The dollar index fell on Friday by 0.2%, resuming losses that were temporarily halted in the previous session and moving closer again to its lowest level in three months, reflecting declining levels of the US currency against a basket of major and secondary currencies.
This decline comes amid a relative improvement in market risk sentiment, with growing hopes that the Iranian war truce will continue to hold, especially in light of the current calm between US naval forces and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) had announced on Thursday that three naval destroyers came under attacks involving missiles, drones, and fast boats while crossing the strait, with US forces responding through “self-defense” strikes targeting missile and drone launch sites as well as military facilities in Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island.
President Trump described the latest US strikes as merely “a light slap,” stressing that the ceasefire agreement remains “in place and effective” despite these skirmishes.
Tehran accused Washington of violating the truce and targeting two Iranian vessels and civilian areas, while announcing that its air defenses intercepted hostile targets over Tehran and coastal regions.
Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, said: “The path toward a lasting peace agreement is not easy at all.” He added: “Traders have been forced to reconsider the assumptions built during recent sessions regarding the course of the conflict and the normalization of shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.”
US interest rates
According to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool: pricing for the probability of keeping US interest rates unchanged at the June meeting is currently stable at 96%, while pricing for the probability of cutting interest rates by 25 basis points stands at 4%.
US jobs
In order to reprice the above probabilities, markets are awaiting later today the monthly US jobs report, which will include important labor market data, especially the number of nonfarm payrolls added in April, alongside the unemployment rate and average hourly earnings.
At 12:30 GMT, nonfarm payrolls data will be released, with expectations pointing to the US economy adding 65,000 new jobs in April, down from 178,000 jobs added in March, while the unemployment rate is expected to remain stable at 4.3%, and average hourly earnings are expected to rise by 0.3%, compared to a previous increase of 0.2%.
Gold performance outlook
Kyle Rodda, analyst at Capital.com, said: “Statements from the Trump administration this morning that the ceasefire is still in place, and that there remains ongoing optimism about the possibility of reaching an agreement between the United States and Iran, are currently supporting the gold market.”
Rodda added: “We are simply waiting for the next major headline regarding whether the United States and Iran are moving closer to reaching an agreement. I think we may witness some price volatility over the next 24 hours as the weekend approaches.”
SPDR Fund
Gold holdings at SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, increased on Thursday by about 0.29 metric tons, bringing the total to 1,033.48 metric tons, rebounding from a total of 1,033.19 metric tons, which was the lowest level since October 15, 2025.
www.economies.com