(RTTNews) – Mildly offsetting two days of gains, gold prices have edged lower on Thursday as investors assess the prospects of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz against the intensifying attacks by Houthis on Saudi Arabian tankers in the Red Sea. A surge in crude oil prices and renewal of inflationary concerns curtailed gold’s upside movement.
Front Month Comex Gold for September month delivery has ticked lower by $4.10 (or 0.10%) to $4,253.50 per troy ounce.
Front Month Comex Silver for September month delivery has tumbled by $0.653 (or 1.05%) to $61.635 per troy ounce.
As the global markets anticipate an end to the Middle East crisis that started after U.S.-Israeli forces attacked Iran on February 28, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei stated that Iran has reached an understanding with Oman regarding the management of shipping traffic across the Strait of Hormuz.
Baghaei stated that during their discussion the two sides agreed on the geographical parameters, including the coordinates for shipping routes.
Indicating Iran’s intention to keep the U.S. away from the deal, Baghaei stated that both nations are finalizing the draft for a joint statement and wished no third party to obstruct the progress.
Reports indicated that Iran and Oman have consented to an arrangement to allow entry of vessels through Iranian waters and vessel exits via Oman’s territorial waters. All the temporary routes created after the U.S.-Iran war began would be closed.
Late Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism that negotiations with Iran were moving along very nicely. Trump reassured that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen soon.
Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent separately announced progress in talks.
On the one hand, Trump threatened Iran with massive strikes while on the other, he had backed diplomatic efforts, keeping the uncertainty high and extended.
The U.S. administration has been insistent on not giving Iran any control over the authority to manage shipping traffic across the Strait of Hormuz. However, the Iranian regime refused to permit ships to transit without Iran’s coordination.
Speaking to Fox News, U.S. Vice President JD Vance stated that negotiations with Iran will be complex and “messy” but expressed confidence that it would land in a good place for the U.S.
Besides this, yesterday, the Iran-backed Houthi militant group in Yemen, claimed to have precisely hit a Saudi Arabian oil tanker, “Wafaa” with ballistic missiles, north of Red Sea, off the Yanbu region. Later, the group announced striking another Saudi tanker “Daisy” in the Gulf of Aden.
While the ongoing U.S.-Iran talks induced optimism to market participants, the Houthi threat kept the Middle East tensions alive and supported crude oil prices on the upside.
On July 29, owing to inflation due to the Middle East conflict, the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee decided to maintain the target range for the Fed’s funds rate at 3.50% to 3.75% after a 9-3 vote.
Yesterday, in an interview with CNBC, one of the three dissenters, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari stated that the central bank should slowly start moving interest rates higher.
Yesterday, Automatic Data Processing data revealed that private employers added 44,000 jobs in July, the least in six months, below forecasts of 70,000.
Today, Labor Department data showed that the number of people claiming first-time unemployment benefits inched higher by 1,000 to 199,000 over the final week of July, slightly under market expectations of 202,000 to remain near the 57-year low of 188,000 two weeks prior.
Continuing jobless claims increased to 1,801,000 for the week ending July 25 of 2026 from 1,777,000 in the previous week.
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