Gold prices continued to decline for a tenth consecutive session in Asian trading on Tuesday, with markets digesting conflicting signals about communications between U.S. and Iranian officials and maintaining a focus on the macroeconomic outlook.
Spot Gold was last reported down 1.3% at $4,351.28 an ounce by 20:38 ET (00:38 GMT). U.S. Gold Futures eased 0.3% to $4,399.59.
Geopolitical developments and market reaction
President Donald Trump postponed planned strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure, a move that helped calm risk sentiment and triggered a notable retreat in oil prices, which in turn allowed gold to trim some of its earlier losses in the prior session.
Mr. Trump said he delayed the threat to bomb Iran’s electricity grid and described talks with unnamed Iranian officials as "very good and productive." That account was contradicted by Iran’s Speaker of the Parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who posted on social media that no such discussions had taken place, injecting uncertainty into the market narrative.
Macroeconomic forces keeping bullion under pressure
Despite gold’s conventional role as a safe-haven asset during geopolitical tension, the metal has continued to face downward pressure as investors concentrate on interest rate expectations. A recent surge in energy prices has raised the prospect that inflation could remain elevated, prompting markets to reduce the likelihood of forthcoming monetary easing.
Market participants are increasingly pricing in the prospect that central banks, including the Federal Reserve, will keep policy rates higher for longer. Higher interest rates typically weigh on gold because the non-yielding asset becomes less attractive relative to interest-bearing instruments such as government bonds.
Other precious metals
Among peers, silver fell 1.5% to $68.08 per ounce, while platinum dipped 0.3% to $1,879.4 per ounce.
Outlook
Gold’s decline reflects a combination of easing immediate geopolitical risk after strike plans were postponed and persistent macroeconomic concerns that favor higher interest rates. The denial from Iran’s parliamentary speaker over the existence of talks adds an additional layer of uncertainty to the near-term market backdrop.