(RTTNews) – Gold prices traded higher on Monday as oil prices tumbled amid eased Middle East tensions, helping ease inflation and interest-rate concerns ahead of crucial Fed, BoE and BoJ central bank meetings due this week.
Spot gold jumped 1 percent to $4,093.68 an ounce while U.S. gold futures were up 0.6 percent at $4,094.
Iran stopped conducting counterattacks and said it had made progress in talks with Oman on management of the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. paused an almost two-week run of strikes against Iran for a second night.
With the pause in the U.S.-Iran war, Brent crude prices tumbled more than 9 percent toward $89 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar index dropped, and Treasury yields dipped as concerns eased over a broader regional conflict and supply disruptions in the Middle East.
On the economic front, markets currently price in only a one-in-three chance of a Fed rate hike on Wednesday as inflation risks and tariffs cloud the economic outlook.
Investors await Fed Chair Warsh’s press conference along with key PCE, durable goods orders and Q2 GDP readings this week for additional clues on the economic and rate outlook.
Elsewhere, the Bank of England is likely to hold its key interest rate steady at 3.75 percent when it meets on Thursday.
The Bank of Japan may also keep interest rates steady on Friday but leave room open for further hikes as inflation concerns reemerge and the yen slides toward a four-decade low.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
www.nasdaq.com