Gold held steady after its biggest jump in two months on Monday, as hopes of a breakthrough in US-Iran peace talks sent oil prices plunging and eased anxiety over accelerating inflation. Bullion traded above $3,950 an ounce after climbing 1.9% in the previous session.
Oil was flat after tumbling more than 7% on Monday, as the Iranian president said his government had been granted more authority by the country's supreme leader to pursue negotiations. US President Donald Trump also hinted at progress in the discussions. The Middle East war, now in its ninth month, has sent energy prices and inflation surging, putting pressure on central banks to raise borrowing costs. That is negative for gold, which does not pay interest.
The precious metal slumped 6.8% in October, breaking decisively below the $4,000 an ounce threshold at the end of the month to hit a one-year low. It was caught up in a retreat from artificial intelligence last week, as investors liquidated bullion holdings to cover losses elsewhere. That has left gold vulnerable to further declines, as Asian tech stocks headed for more losses on Tuesday after a selloff in US chipmakers deepened.
US voters head to the polls on Tuesday for the midterm elections, with the results potentially driving moves in bullion on Wednesday in Asia. Spot gold rose 0.2% to $3,954.52 an ounce as of 8:18 a.m. in Singapore. Silver was up 0.3% at $50.77, after rising more than 3% on Monday. Platinum and palladium edged higher.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing