WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold edged lower on Friday as the geopolitical tension in the Middle East faded after the U.S. adopted a 'wait-and-watch' stance in Iran, contrary to its earlier proposed military intervention. Gains in the greenback also took the sheen off the yellow metal.
Front Month Comex Gold for January delivery declined by $27.90 (or 0.60%) to $4,588.40 per troy ounce. Gold prices increased for the second consecutive week, surging by $98.10 (or 2.18%) per troy ounce this week.
Front Month Comex Silver for January delivery plunged by $3.785 (or 4.12%) to $88.091 per troy ounce. Notably, silver prices, which have also risen, for two consecutive weeks, skyrocketed by $9.2070 (or 11.67%) per troy ounce for this week.
U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier threatened to conduct military strikes in Iran after reports stated that the regime embraced violent measures to curb the civil uprising going on since December 2025. With internet blocked, information shared via Starlink showed protesters being hanged.
Racing to help the demonstrators, Trump warned Iran and messaged the nationals that help was on the way. However, Iran advised its neighbors not to harbor U.S. troops and warned of retaliation if the U.S. offensives began, raising the threat of war in the Middle East.
In a sudden twist of events, Trump stated that he had been informed that the killings have stopped though he cautioned Iran that the U.S. is watching the developments and if killings continue, there will be 'grave consequences.'
Data released yesterday by the Department of Labor revealed that initial jobless claims fell by 9,000 from the previous week to 198,000 for the week ending January 10, against market expectations of an increase to 215,000. Continuing jobless claims decreased to 1,884,000 for the week ending January 3 from 1,903,000 in the previous week.
The four-week average of jobless claims decreased to 205,000 on January 10 from 211,500 from the previous week.
These numbers have lowered the expectations for an interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve and strengthened the U.S. dollar further.
In Europe, Ukrainian drones targeted Russia-occupied region of Ukraine's Zaporizhia.
An overnight Russian attack in Zhytomyr and Kharkiv in Ukraine has set off new power outages, leaving thousands of homes in Ukraine without heat and electricity this winter.
When asked about the developments on the U.S. peace plan, Trump had stated that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is blocking the deal though Russia was ready to go ahead.
Refuting this, Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine 'has never been and will never be a stumbling block.'
The U.S. and Taiwan reached a trade deal through which Taiwanese chip and technology companies will invest at least $250 billion in production capacity in the U.S. In return, the U.S. lowered tariffs on semiconductor exports from Taiwan.
With regard to Greenland, Trump suggested that he may punish countries with new tariffs if they do not back the U.S. interests in controlling the territory.
In the U.S., early this week, the Federal Reserve announced that Fed Chair Jerome Powell had been served with grand jury subpoenas in connection with financial overruns in the renovation of the Fed building last year. When asked, Trump distanced himself from the issue.
The Fed is meeting on January 27-28 to decide on interest rates. CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently revealing that traders are betting on a 95.0% chance that the Fed will leave the rates unchanged.
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