WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Declining for the third consecutive session, gold prices have tumbled on Friday as traders parse the claims made by U.S. President Donald Trump that Iran would surrender soon compared to the assertive hard stance taken by Iran's new leadership yesterday in the ongoing gulf war.
Front Month Comex Gold for April delivery has slumped by $73.8 (or 1.44%) to $5,052.0 per troy ounce.
Front Month Comex Silver for April delivery has plunged by $4.629 (or 5.46%) to $80.185 per troy ounce.
The U.S.-Israel combined military operation (termed Epic Fury) against Iran entered day number 14.
Axios reported that during a virtual meeting to discuss the consequences of the U.S. offensives in Iran with the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7), Trump reportedly claimed that Iran is on the verge of surrendering.
Announcing that the U.S. has 'got rid of a cancer that was threatening all,' Trump stated that Iran's leadership and military capabilities have been weakened and there is no credible leader to even announce Iran's surrender.
Yesterday, in his first message to the public, Iran's new leader Mojtaba Khamenei resolved to hit back at the U.S. with full force. Khamenei also demanded compensation for all the damages inflicted in the war so far to Iran.
In particular, seeking revenge, Khamenei insisted that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed in order to use it as a tool to bring down 'Iran's enemies.'
Iran's 'Tehran Times' quoted a spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters who claimed that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps hit the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln docked near Iran rendering it inoperable. The report stated the vessel left the region at high speed.
Quick to respond, U.S. Central Command posted a few images of the naval vessel and reiterated that the carrier continues to support 'Operation Epic Fury.'
According to a CBS News report, U.S. naval forces successfully countered a threatening approach by an Iranian vessel.
These claims and counterclaims have cemented the uncertainty prevailing over the war ending anytime sooner.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump stated that the U.S. will escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz if necessary but stressed 'things are going very well.'
The blockade of oil and energy transit via the strait due to the war has severely disrupted the supply chain for Arabian oil exports, sending oil prices through the roof, triggering inflationary concerns across the world.
Left to combat inflation, major central banks of the world are not expected to lower interest rates in the near-term.
According to the Pentagon, the first week of war had cost the U.S. nearly $11.3 billion.
Inflationary pressures forced investors to move towards the U.S. dollar, which capped the rise in yellow metal price earlier in the session.
On the U.S. economic front, the Personal Consumption Expenditure data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis revealed that the core price index rose by 0.4% in January, in line with market expectations.
From the previous year, the core PCE index rose by 3.1%. Of note, the core PCE price index is considered as the U.S. Federal Reserve's preferred gauge of inflation.
The U.S. economy expanded at an annualized 0.7% in Q4 of 2025, below estimates.
The U.S. dollar index was last seen trading at 100.35, up by 0.69 points (or 0.69%) today.
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