LONDON, March 26, 2026, 17:15 GMT
- Spot gold was down 1.1% at $4,455.51 an ounce as of 1515 GMT. U.S. April futures saw a steeper fall, dropping 2.2% to $4,452.20.
- Brent crude pushed past $105 a barrel, while the dollar gained ground, fueling inflation concerns and erasing expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut this year.
- Silver dropped over 3%, with platinum and palladium matching the slide. London’s listed precious metal miners tumbled 4.4%.
Gold slid Thursday, unable to hold onto gains from its earlier bounce as a firmer dollar and rising oil prices pushed investors to sell. Spot gold dropped 1.1% to $4,455.51 an ounce as of 1515 GMT. U.S. April futures lost 2.2%, settling at $4,452.20.
Typically, gold gets a boost when geopolitical tensions flare. Not so now. With the focus turning to the inflation risk from surging energy costs, yields have climbed, making the dollar look better and putting pressure on gold, which offers no yield. According to Reuters, traders are now betting there won’t be a Fed rate cut this year.
Brent crude climbed to $106.99 a barrel on Thursday, with the dollar edging higher after a senior Iranian official dismissed a U.S. ceasefire proposal as “one-sided and unfair,” Reuters reported. U.S. jobless claims ticked up just a bit last week, signaling the Fed still has leeway to keep rates on hold as it tracks inflation risks. Reuters
Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco Metals, pointed to jitters over rates and inflation as the main forces pushing gold lower. Over at Zaner Metals, Peter Grant—vice president and senior metals strategist—attributed Wednesday’s uptick to traders squaring up following a stretch of aggressive selling. Grant added the market still wants “further easing of inflation concerns” before traders start betting on another U.S. rate cut. Reuters
The move in gold has been anything but subtle. Prices jumped close to 2% Wednesday after scraping a four-month low just on Monday—helped briefly by weaker oil. That rally barely lasted, though, with gains evaporating as soon as crude reversed course.
TD Securities’ Bart Melek said this week that a prolonged war and stubbornly rising energy costs aren’t helping gold’s case. The global head of commodity strategy expects bullion might remain on the back foot through the second quarter. It could pick up later in the year, he said, assuming the dollar weakens and rates head lower.
Selling ran wide. Spot silver slid 3.2% to $68.97 an ounce; platinum also shed 3.2%, closing at $1,858.46; palladium tumbled 4.5% to $1,359.62. Over in London, the FTSE precious metal miners index dropped 4.4%, pointing to losses well beyond just bullion.
There are investors who chalk up the move to technical factors, not a shift in the overarching bull narrative. BlackRock’s Helen Jewell, international CIO for fundamental equities, pointed out in a Reuters commentary that surging inflows to commodity exchange-traded products—funds set up to follow price moves—have made gold crowded, exposing it to forced selling as funds rush for liquidity.
Everything hinges on the war’s direction—and what oil decides to do next. Wyckoff sees gold dropping beneath $4,000 if fighting drags on, but says a ceasefire plus renewed bets on lower U.S. rates might push it back up near $5,000. That’s the overhang traders are stuck with right now.
Gold has dropped over 15% since the conflict erupted on Feb. 28, and prices are still far under the Jan. 29 peak of $5,594.82 an ounce. This year, the metal hasn’t dodged the pull from cash flows, a firm dollar, and shifting rate bets.
