{"id":128609,"date":"2026-06-18T16:48:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T12:48:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/?p=128609"},"modified":"2026-06-18T16:48:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T12:48:41","slug":"gold-edges-higher-as-iran-mou-eases-inflation-fears-nine-hawkish-fed-officials-and-warshs-resolve-cap-the-upside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/gold-edges-higher-as-iran-mou-eases-inflation-fears-nine-hawkish-fed-officials-and-warshs-resolve-cap-the-upside\/06\/18\/market-updates\/","title":{"rendered":"Gold Edges Higher as Iran MOU Eases Inflation Fears: Nine Hawkish Fed Officials and Warsh&#8217;s Resolve Cap the Upside"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Takeaways<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Spot gold recovers modestly:<\/strong> Rose 0.3% to $4,269.42 per ounce after Wednesday&#8217;s 1.7% decline.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Gold futures slip:<\/strong> U.S. gold futures fell 2.1% to $4,288.72 \u2014 reflecting persistent rate hike concerns in the futures market.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Iran MOU the support:<\/strong> The 14-point memorandum begins a 60-day negotiation period with toll-free Hormuz passage and full capacity restoration within 30 days.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Energy shock fears ease:<\/strong> The deal helps temper concerns about a prolonged oil supply disruption and energy-driven inflation \u2014 reducing a key headwind for gold.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Portfolio hedge demand returns:<\/strong> With geopolitical risks easing, some investors are returning to gold as a diversifier.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fed held at 3.50%-3.75%:<\/strong> As expected, but the hawkish projections caught markets off guard.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Nine of 19 officials see 2026 hike:<\/strong> A marked shift from expectations at the start of the year.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Warsh&#8217;s inflation resolve:<\/strong> The new Fed chair emphasized the central bank&#8217;s commitment to restoring price stability in his first meeting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fed raises inflation forecasts:<\/strong> The upward revisions prompted investors to scale back rate cut expectations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dollar strength caps gold:<\/strong> A firmer greenback makes dollar-denominated bullion more expensive for overseas buyers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Opportunity cost remains elevated:<\/strong> Higher-for-longer rates continue to reduce the appeal of non-yielding gold.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Gold prices rose on Thursday, recovering from the previous session&#8217;s losses as investors weighed the signing of a U.S.-Iran interim peace agreement against the Federal Reserve&#8217;s signal for an interest rate hike later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Spot gold rose 0.3% to $4,269.42 an ounce by 05:46 ET (09:46 GMT). However, gold futures slipped 2.1% to $4,288.72 per ounce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The yellow metal fell 1.7% in the previous session due to a stronger U.S. dollar and rising Treasury yields following the Fed&#8217;s latest policy decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Iran MOU Provides Support<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Bullion found support from optimism surrounding the U.S.-Iran accord, which is expected to ease tensions in the Middle East and pave the way for the reopening of key energy export routes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 14-point memorandum begins a 60-day negotiation period during which Iran will allow toll-free passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The deal calls for traffic through the strait to be restored to its full capacity within 30 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The agreement has helped temper fears of a prolonged oil supply shock, reducing concerns about energy-driven inflation and supporting demand for bullion as a portfolio hedge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fed&#8217;s Hawkish Signals Cap the Rally<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>However, gains were capped after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at 3.50%-3.75% on Wednesday and signaled that policymakers still see scope for tighter monetary policy later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Updated projections showed that nine of 19 Fed officials expect at least one rate increase in 2026 \u2014 a marked shift from expectations at the beginning of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In his first meeting as Fed chair, Kevin Warsh maintained a firm stance on inflation, emphasizing the central bank&#8217;s commitment to restoring price stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Fed also raised its inflation forecasts, prompting investors to scale back expectations for rate cuts and boosting the dollar. A stronger greenback typically makes dollar-denominated gold more expensive for overseas buyers, while higher interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Spot gold recovers modestly: Rose 0.3% to $4,269.42 per ounce after Wednesday&#8217;s 1.7% decline. Gold futures slip: U.S. gold futures fell 2.1% to $4,288.72 \u2014 reflecting persistent rate hike concerns in the futures market. Iran MOU the support: The 14-point memorandum begins a 60-day negotiation period with toll-free Hormuz passage and full capacity &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":128582,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,6827,49,37,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-commodities-news","category-daily-economic-reports","category-economic-reports","category-forex-markets","category-market-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128609"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128610,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128609\/revisions\/128610"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}