WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Declining for the fourth consecutive session, gold prices slumped on Monday amid a rebound in U.S. stocks and cooling in oil prices due to profit-taking even as the gulf war continues with full intensity.
Front Month Comex Gold for April delivery dived sharply by $61.10 (or 1.21%) to $5,000.60 per troy ounce.
Front Month Comex Silver for April delivery edged lower by $0.713 (or 0.88%) to $80.345 per troy ounce.
U.S. stocks bounced back from recent losses after oil prices eased, largely due to profit-booking by traders who capitalized on the recent surges.
WTI crude oil for April delivery plunged by $4.17 (or 4.22%) to $94.54 today.
Further, the economic data releases from Friday and Monday renewed investor confidence.
Today, the U.S. Federal Reserve's data showed that the industrial production in the U.S. increased 0.20% month-over-month in February, and year-on-year, it increased 1.40%.
The U.S. capacity utilization stood at 76.30% in February, the same as the previous month.
Manufacturing output rose 0.20% month-over-month in February while it increased 1.30% year-on-year.
Last week, the annualized GDP for Q4 2025 came in at 0.70% against a forecast of 1.40% and the GDP Price Index was at 3.80%.
Core PCE price index rose by 0.40% from January, in line with market expectations and from the previous year, the PCE index rose by 3.10%. Of note, the core PCE price index is the U.S. Federal Reserve's chosen measure to gauge inflation.
Real personal spending ticked higher by 0.10% in January while the forecast was unchanged (at 0%) as January durable goods orders trailed the estimate.
The University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment reading for March fell from 56.6 to 55.5.
JOLTs job openings rose from 6,550,000 in December to 6,946,000 in January.
U.S. President Donald Trump called for seven countries (without naming them) to support the U.S. by sending their warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump also pressed the pedal harder on European allies and warned that NATO could face a bad future if it fails to stand by the U.S.
On Sunday night, Trump demanded that the allies unify to protect as it is their territory.
After taking a conflicting stance on the deadline for ending the war, on March 14, Trump had stated that the U.S. was negotiating with countries (China, France, Japan, South Korea, and the U.K.) that largely depend on Middle East crude oil to come under a U.S.-led coalition. However, none of the countries have responded positively so far.
With no way to export their oil, Arab nations are shutting production one by one.
On Sunday night, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated that Iran has neither sought for ceasefire nor wanted negotiations.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is convening for a two-day policy meeting on March 17-18.
Policymakers of the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, and the Bank of Japan are also meeting in their respective countries to announce new interest rates in the coming days.
With focus shifting to the long-term inflationary effects on economy due to the protracted gulf war, analysts are of the view that the Fed and other major central banks would adopt a 'hawkish' stance.
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