Gold and Silver Down as US-Iran Negotiations Continue

 

Gold and Silver Down as US-Iran Negotiations Continue

(Hero Bullion News Network) – Gold and silver prices retreated on Monday to start the trading week. The spot price of gold shed around $52 per troy ounce, sliding below the $4,500/ozt support. Silver prices moved similarly, dropping approximately $0.39/ozt while maintaining a bit of separation above $75 per troy ounce. The price action drove the gold-silver ratio less than 1% lower.

Negotiations between the United States and Iran continued to dominate headlines on Monday. Over the weekend, the U.S. and Iran traded strikes amidst an increasingly shaky ceasefire. U.S. central command confirmed the strikes against Iranian targets, describing them as self-defensive in an X post.

The measured and deliberate strikes occurred on Saturday and Sunday in response to aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a U.S. MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters. U.S. fighter aircraft swiftly responded by eliminating Iranian air defenses, a ground control station, and two one-way attack drones that posed clear threats to ships transiting regional waters.

Iran escalated its threats to close the Bab al-Mandab Strait on Monday due to Israel’s military activity in Lebanon. A significant portion of the world’s supply of oil and other vital trade resources pass through the waterway annually. Crude oil prices ticked higher on the threat. President Trump announced during the day that Hezbollah, the target of Israel’s attacks in Lebanon, would stop fighting. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the strikes in Lebanon will continue “as planned.”

Trump said in a Truth Social post that negotiations between the U.S. and Iran were continuing on Monday.

Talks are continuing, at a rapid pace, with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

Iranian state media sources reported the opposite, saying that communications between the U.S. and Iran had been cut off due to continued fighting between Israel and Lebanon. Trump told reporters earlier on Monday that he “couldn’t care less” if talks end between the two countries, clarifying that the negotiations had “started to get very boring.

The back-and-forth left American markets in a state of volatility, although Wall Street managed to notch fresh records in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq by the end of the day. 

For the precious metals market, both gold and silver saw moderate losses, with little upward movement throughout the day as news broke about negotiations – or the lack thereof – between Iran and the United States. Despite crude oil jumping on the threat of another vital waterway being closed, strong performances on Wall Street seemingly have traders opting away from safe haven assets like gold and silver.

Domestically, the big data release this week will be Friday’s May U.S. employment report. Right now, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at its June meeting, which will be the first headed by Kevin Warsh as Fed chair. CME Group’s FedWatch projections saw a bit of change throughout the day on Monday, with a small probability of a rate hike being erased and a 1.6% projection for a rate cut emerging.

Friday’s employment report should be an impactful one for the FOMC ahead of its June 30th meeting. Last week, the April PCE year-over-year reached its highest point since 2023. Because cutting rates tends to be inflationary, the report virtually locked the Fed out of a likely rate cut in June. However, Friday’s employment numbers could either open or close the door for a rate hike, depending on the data.

In either case, the Fed is a major spot to watch for traders this month. Warsh will take the reins as Fed chair at his first meeting at the end of June, and he is inheriting a historically divided committee. The April meeting saw four dissenters, the highest number since 1992. Warsh is expected to face pressure from President Donald Trump, who repeatedly criticized former Fed chair Jerome Powell for failing to cut interest rates. However, the ongoing inflationary impact of the conflict in Iran could make it difficult for Warsh to secure consensus – if he even wants to pursue easing policy.

It is worth noting that Fed rate cut speculation played a major role in gold’s price performance in both 2024 and 2025. With the outbreak of the war in Iran and steady rate expectations from the FOMC in 2026, interest rates have often played second-fiddle to larger macroeconomic and geopolitical speculation throughout much of this year.

This could change at any point, however, and traders would be wise to closely watch the Fed for signals heading into its first meeting with a new chairman.

Platinum-group metals remained largely flat on Monday, with both platinum and palladium gaining less than $10 per troy ounce.