(RTTNews) – Gold prices have edged lower on Friday as crude oil inventory concerns and the extended delay in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz increased inflation-related apprehensions, overshadowing the positive signals from the developments in the U.S.-Iran negotiations.
Front Month Comex Gold for June month delivery has slipped by $25.10 (or 0.55%) to $4,517.40 per troy ounce.
Front Month Comex Silver for June month delivery has inched lower by $0.540 (or 0.71%) to $75.932 per troy ounce.
Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that negotiations between the U.S. and Iran are showing “some progress” though he stated that he did not want to exaggerate.
While Rubio acknowledged that no major breakthrough has been achieved yet, he stressed that the Strait of Hormuz should be free for all international ships.
Citing a source familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that a negotiations team from Qatar arrived in Iran in coordination with the U.S. to secure a deal to end the war and resolve all pending issues.
Yesterday, Reuters reported that Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei refused to move enriched uranium outside of Iran.
Hours later, citing a “senior Iranian official” an Al-Jazeera reporter, Ali Hashem, messaged via X that no such order was made and the report was both not correct and propaganda.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already stated that the war would be considered over only if Iran’s nuclear weapons are eliminated.
U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that the U.S. will acquire the enriched uranium and even probably destroy it but would not let Iran have it.
Pakistan is acting as a mediator between both the nations facilitating exchange of communications.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi reached Iran yesterday where he is involved in a series of meetings with senior Iranian ministers and officials. Naqvi met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi today, the second time in the past 24 hours to review proposals.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Israeli officials believe that Trump is leaning to pursue diplomacy before considering any military action. It added that Israeli government is of the view that Iran is seeking to prolong talks instead of moving fast towards an agreement.
Yesterday, Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya reported that a final draft of a possible agreement between the U.S. and Iran is ready and would be announced within hours.
Yesterday, Reuters too reported citing a senior Iranian official that gaps between the two nations to reach a deal have been significantly narrowed.
Despite the intensity of action on the diplomatic front over the past few days, investors are cautious and staying away from risky moves in the absence of any indication of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The blockade enforced earlier by Iran for all ships and then by the U.S. for ships entering or exiting ports of Iran has crippled oil and energy trade globally.
In a crucial development, while addressing the GLOBSEC Forum in Prague, Presidential Adviser for the United Arab Emirates, Anwar Gargash cautioned that the possibilities for a successful agreement between the U.S. and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz crisis currently stand at only “50-50.”
Gargash warned against conducting negotiations with the intention of reaching just a ceasefire as it would soon add to further undesirable conflicts and emphasized addressing the root causes of the standoff. Gargash also cautioned that Iran has a tendency to over-negotiate and miss diplomatic possibilities.
Yesterday, the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol stated that the continuous drawdown of existing inventories amid the ongoing blockade on the Strait of Hormuz could push oil markets into a “red zone” by early July.
The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index plunged to a record low of 44.80 in May (downwardly revised from a preliminary 48.20) marking the third straight monthly decline as the Strait of Hormuz supply disruptions continued to push gasoline prices higher.
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