WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Partially offsetting the losses from yesterday's slump, gold prices have edged higher on Friday as concerns of an immediate interest rate hike in the U.S. have eased following recent economic data even as the Strait of Hormuz crisis fueled oil-linked inflation concerns.
Front Month Comex Gold for September month delivery has edged higher by $22.20 (or 0.51%) to $4,393.60 per troy ounce.
Front Month Comex Silver for September month delivery has inched higher by $0.132 (or 0.20%) to $65.125 per troy ounce.
The Middle East crisis is going on with no rapprochement between the U.S. and Iran in sight despite hectic efforts by Pakistan and U.S. allies in the gulf.
Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he preferred to maximize the pressure on Iran economically rather than through military offensives. The U.S. has already imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports.
In an interview with Newsmax, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the U.S. administration is set to announce new measures to push Iran into an unprecedented level of economic isolation. Bessent stated that the military campaign against Iran, which Trump termed 'Operation Epic Fury,' has now turned to 'Economic Fury' against Iran.
After claiming to have reached an agreement with Oman regarding the management of Strait of Hormuz, Iran demanded compensation for the damages it underwent due to the U.S.-Iran war, failing which it refused to reopen the strait.
In return, Trump demanded Iran compensate for all the loss of lives and property in various countries that engaged in conflict with Iran over the past five decades.
While Trump asserted that the U.S. is in total control of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran fiercely denied Trump's claims.
In an interview on Fox News Channel's 'The Will Cain Show', U.S. Vice President JD Vance clarified that the purpose of the war was two-fold.
First, the U.S. wanted the gulf nations to send oil and gas to the rest of the nations freely and safely to enable prices are cheap, and the second reason was to ensure that Iran does not possess or develop a nuclear weapon.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth claimed that the U.S. has enough military assets to hold its naval blockade on Iran for an indefinite period.
The faceoff has left the Strait of Hormuz closed and due to that the shipping traffic in the region has virtually come to a halt.
Meanwhile, two tankers owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company of the United Arab Emirates came under drone attack by Iran while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Supply disruption concerns have pushed oil prices higher and oil-linked inflation pressure is rattling global economies.
Challenged to combat inflation, major global banks are struggling to fix their interest rates.
The non-farm payrolls data released last week indicated a fall by 23,000 in July compared to predictions of an 80,000 increase.
Today, data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau revealed that retail sales fell 0.60% month-on-month in July, reversing June's 0.20% gain and sharply missing expectations for a 0.10% rise.
Following recent soft U.S. inflation numbers and a weak jobs report, against last week's above-50% bets, investors have trimmed their interest rate hike expectations considerably.
According to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool, traders are betting on only a 32.60% chance for a 25-basis-point interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve at its upcoming meeting on September 15-16.
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