Key Takeaways

• Gold under pressure: Spot gold slipped 0.5% to $4,672.22/oz, with prices on track for a steep 3% weekly loss as the dollar surged to its best week since early March.
• Silver and platinum hit harder: Silver plunged nearly 8% for the week to $74.483/oz, while platinum shed 5.4% to $1,992.72/oz amid aggressive profit-taking after recent outperformance.
• Dollar in the driver’s seat: Fears that the Iran war will fuel inflation have boosted the greenback, diverting safe-haven demand away from precious metals.
• Rate-hike anxiety: Markets worry that inflationary pressures from the conflict will force central banks into a more hawkish stance, lifting interest rates and weighing on non-yielding assets like gold.
• No peace in sight: Trump declared no urgency to strike a deal with Iran and ordered the military to fire on vessels mining the Strait of Hormuz, keeping geopolitical tensions red-hot.

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Gold prices retreated on Friday and were staring down heavy weekly losses, as mounting uncertainty surrounding the U.S.-Iran war — fueled by renewed hostilities and the unraveling of peace negotiations — drove traders into the arms of the dollar.

Spot gold dropped 0.5% to $4,672.22 per ounce as of 02:27 ET (06:27 GMT), while gold futures slid 0.8% to $4,686.89 per ounce.

Spot prices were on course to shed 3% over the week, buckling under renewed pressure from a resurgent dollar as worries about the inflationary fallout from the Iran conflict lifted the greenback.

Dollar’s Rally Pressures the Entire Metals Complex

The U.S. dollar was poised to wrap up its strongest week since early March, putting broad-based strain on precious metals markets.

Silver led the declines, with spot prices tumbling 1.2% to $74.483 per ounce and setting up a weekly loss of nearly 8%. Platinum wasn’t far behind, sliding 1% to $1,992.72 per ounce and posting a weekly decline of 5.4%.

Both silver and platinum became targets for aggressive profit-taking after significantly outperforming gold in recent weeks. The two metals had ridden a wave of optimism over their industrial uses, while platinum prices also found support from projections of a widening silver supply deficit heading into 2026.

Rate-Hike Fears Haunt the Bullion Market

Investor anxiety centered on the prospect that inflationary shockwaves from the Iran war could prompt major global central banks to adopt a more hawkish posture and push interest rates higher — a scenario that weighed heavily on the appeal of precious metals.

Rising rates erode the attractiveness of non-yielding assets like gold, and with oil prices surging sharply this week, concerns over energy-driven inflation remained front and center for traders.

Hormuz Standoff Keeps Geopolitical Risk Elevated

Washington extended its ceasefire with Iran indefinitely earlier in the week, yet tensions between the two adversaries refused to ease. Iran continues to block passage through the Strait of Hormuz, while the United States maintains its naval blockade against the Islamic Republic.

Speaking on Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump declared he was in no hurry to finalize a peace agreement with Iran, and issued orders for the military to open fire on any Iranian vessels caught mining the Hormuz waterway.

In a separate development, Iran released footage purportedly showing its forces storming a ship, while simultaneously showcasing its speedboat fleet’s capabilities for conducting strikes in and around the Strait of Hormuz.