(RTTNews) – Extending the losses from yesterday’s session, gold prices have ticked lower on Tuesday despite a slump in crude oil prices due to easing Middle East tensions as expectations of interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve continue to grow.
Front Month Comex Gold for August month delivery has changed a little on the downside by $0.60 (or 0.01%) to $4,038.30 per troy ounce.
Front Month Comex Silver for August month delivery has soared by $1.315 (or 2.25%) to $59.730 per troy ounce.
After a brief exchange of attacks over the weekend, the U.S. and Iran are set to resume peace negotiations.
The Memorandum of Understanding signed between the U.S. and Iran on June 17 was put to the test last week following the first incident involving an unknown projectile hitting a Singapore-flagged vessel on Thursday. U.S. Central Command directed attacks on Iranian targets.
Once again on Friday, an unidentified projectile struck a Panama-flagged vessel which attracted an immediate military response from the U.S. Countering the U.S. strikes, Iran targeted U.S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain.
The June 17 MoU paved way for a 60-day period of ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran as well as the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. However, last weekend’s skirmish raised doubts on the longevity of the truce especially after U.S. President Donald Trump’s strongly worded warnings to Iran over its violation of ceasefire.
Yesterday, Trump claimed through his social media platform Truth Social that Iran had asked for a meeting and talks will recommence in Doha, Qatar today.
Iran refuted Trump’s announcement and stated that no talks are scheduled and added that an Iranian delegation is visiting Doha to follow up on the 14-point MoU.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency quoted Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as stating that Iran wants to prioritize the technical implementation of the MoU instead of transitioning to fresh dialogue.
Iran’s Fars agency quoted Baghaei as saying that the visit by the U.S. representatives to Qatar is in no way connected to the trip by the Iranian delegation. Baghaei stressed that negotiations on a comprehensive agreement have not yet commenced.
In an interview with Fox News, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reaffirmed that the meeting follows a request from Iran.
With uncertainty prevailing on which direction the talks are heading to, market participants await clarity and held back from risky moves.
WTI Crude oil for August month delivery was last seen trading at $69.71 down by $1.04 (or 1.47%).
Heading towards a fourth straight monthly decline, gold prices have been down by more than nearly 11% for the month.
Despite the resumption of traffic across the Strait of Hormuz and easing oil prices, market participants are pricing higher odds of rate hikes by the U.S. Fed.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, job openings in May increased by 9,000 to 7,594,000, higher than the expected figure of 7,296,000 and above April’s revised 7,585,000.
The number of job quits rose slightly to 3,065,000 in May from the upwardly revised 3,043,000 in April but below 3,287,000 a year ago.
This week’s upcoming U.S. nonfarm payrolls data is anticipated by investors to derive clues on the Fed’s future policy path.
Currently, investors are betting on a 33.70% chance of a quarter-basis-point interest rate-hike at the upcoming Federal Reserve’s meeting on July 28-29 while the bets on rates being held at the current level stand at 66.30%, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.
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