Israel-Iran ceasefire: Gold at near 2-week low after Trump's announcement
Image credit: Srinophan69/ Getty Images
Spot gold was down 0.5 per cent to $3,351.47 an ounce, as of 0257 GMT, after hitting its lowest level since June 11 earlier in the session.
Read-
US gold futures slipped 0.9 per cent to $3,365.30.
'It seems like there's a good bit of geopolitical risk that's exiting the market here near term after, of course, we have signs of de-escalation between the US and Iran,' said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive.
Trump announced a complete ceasefire between Israel and Iran, potentially ending the 12-day conflict that saw millions flee Tehran and prompted fears of further escalation in the war-torn region.
There was no immediate comment from Israel. While an Iranian official earlier confirmed that Tehran had agreed to a ceasefire, the country's foreign minister said there would be no cessation of hostilities unless Israel stopped its attacks.
Global shares rallied, while oil prices slipped to a one-week low after Trump announced the Iran-Israel ceasefire.
Meanwhile, US Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said on Monday that the time to cut interest rates is approaching amid potential risks to the job market.
Investors await testimony by Fed Chair Jerome Powell before the House Financial Services Committee later on Tuesday. Powell has been cautious about signalling near-term easing.
'The bias for gold prices is higher, but we might see a correction in near-term and an uptick in the dollar if Powell convinces markets that they're not going to cut more than twice this year,' Spivak said.
Gold tends to thrive in a low-interest-rate environment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Tahawul Tech
20 minutes ago
- Tahawul Tech
Meta considered alternative deal prior to staking Scale AI
Meta Platforms reportedly had talks to buy startup Perplexity AI before moving on to invest billions into Scale AI instead. Bloomberg reported Meta and Perplexity AI were unable to finalise the deal and noted the financial terms under discussion were not available. The news agency stated talks with Perplexity AI further highlight Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's effort to scale the company's AI capabilities through deals and recruiting new employees. In January the CEO stated the company plans capex of $60 billion to $65 billion in 2025 as part of a plan to broaden its AI infrastructure. Meta ended up paying $14.3 billion for a 49 per cent staked in Scale AI in a deal which included the latter's CEO, Alexandr Wang, joining a new AI team created by Zuckerberg. Bloomberg previously reported Zuckerberg is personally recruiting around 50 people for a new team to spur the company's artificial general intelligence (AGI) scheme. Source: Mobile World Live Image Credit: Stock Image/Scale AI
Zawya
27 minutes ago
- Zawya
Powell is staying at the Fed, with Trump appointments possibly limited
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell begins two days of congressional testimony on Tuesday under fire from President Donald Trump for not cutting interest rates but with his status as head of the central bank seemingly secured from any presidential action by a Supreme Court ruling last month. Trump has mused about firing Powell or naming a successor soon, in what some analysts see as an effort to influence monetary policy through a "shadow" Fed chair even before Powell leaves office in May 2026. However the Supreme Court's acknowledgment last month that the Fed has a unique status, with its seven governors immune from removal over policy disagreements, has highlighted not just that Powell will serve out his term, but that Trump may be able to appoint only one additional board member before leaving office in January 2029. The risk of naming a Powell replacement early, months before a board seat opens in January, and months after that until Powell departs, could be greater than any influence a chair-in-waiting might have, Evercore ISI vice chair and former New York Fed official Krishna Guha wrote recently. "Nominating the next Fed chair now with the expectation that this person would be an active alternative voice on monetary policy for the best part of a year would confuse the ways that would not help advance rate cuts," Guha wrote. "The intended be unable to exercise real influence on policy for some time, and could lose credibility critiquing a Committee he would need to manage upon taking over." Any missteps could also complicate Senate confirmation. Powell starts his twice-yearly round of Capitol Hill hearings on Tuesday before the House Financial Services Committee with many policymakers reluctant to cut interest rates, despite Trump's public demands, until the administration's back-and-forth debate over tariffs is resolved and there is more clarity about how they may influence inflation, growth and jobs. The U.S. bombing of Iran and conflict between Iran and Israel could also factor into Powell's appearance, with the possibility of rising oil prices becoming part of a Fed economic outlook that has been revised towards slower growth and higher inflation since Trump took office and embarked on his tariff campaign. So far, though, oil prices have remained steady. STATUTORY LIMITS Whatever Trump thinks the Fed should do, the ranks of policymakers are all but settled, absent unexpected resignations. To limit how much change a president can make at the Fed in any four-year term, and thus cap political leverage over interest rate decisions that can have electoral consequences, Congress sets Fed governors' terms at 14 years, with expirations staggered every two years. The chair's term runs on a separate four-year schedule to give every president the chance to name the central bank's powerful head. While his chair term expires next May, Powell's Fed board term expires in 2028, though he may well follow precedent and leave the Fed once his time as chair is over. That means Trump has only two certain vacancies to fill in his term, Powell's and another seat held by Governor Adriana Kugler, appointed by former President Joe Biden, that expires in January. Two other board members, Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Chris Waller, were appointed by Trump in his first term. They are now as insulated from pressure as the others, and have joined a series of unanimous votes this year to keep interest rates steady, though both recently said a cut as soon as July may be appropriate. Interest rates, though, are set at meetings that include the 12 regional Fed bank presidents, five of whom vote on rates in any given year. They are even further outside of presidential control, hired by the boards of directors of what are quasi-private institutions established more than a century ago to ensure regional input into national monetary policy. While a chair or a president could veto a given candidate to run a reserve bank, terms of only three of the 12 expire before Trump leaves office, and none until 2028. The rest are under terms extending into the 2030s. FOCUS ON THE MISSION Former and current Fed officials talk about the pull of the institution on those inside it. Each of eight annual meetings involves extensive staff and other briefings on the state of the economy and the outlook. Officials also shape their views from interviews with business and community leaders, the regular cycle of data from government statistical agencies, and the almost constant chatter of colleagues expressing their opinions in public. Markets play a role as well, voting daily on emerging Fed policy through the pricing of bonds, stocks, and contracts tied directly to the Fed's policy rate. For actual policymakers, let alone "shadow" officials not acting in any formal capacity, there's not much room to hide, a sea change from the days when former Chair Alan Greenspan tightly controlled the Fed's sometimes cryptic messaging. "We have 19 members, all of whom are pretty confident and opinionated. One thing that we get very well conditioned to do is to listen attentively to the opinions of the many people who think that there are things we could do differently and better, but then still try to make the right decision," Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin told Reuters. "I think we're well conditioned to focus on the mission and not focus on the noise." (Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Dan Burns and Andrea Ricci)
Tahawul Tech
30 minutes ago
- Tahawul Tech
Small fleet of Tesla Robotaxi launches in Texas
Tesla's new robotaxis saw their first rollout on the roads in Austin, Texas. In videos shared on X, a small group of analysts, influencers and shareholders were shown participating in paid rides. The small number of vehicles deployed had a human safety operator in the passenger seat, according to reports. Analysts said the 'low-key' robotaxi launch highlights Tesla's big bid to compete with existing self-driving taxi operators in the US and China, as the sector grows. Musk congratulated Tesla's artificial intelligence and chip design teams on the launch in a post on X, writing that it was culmination of a decade of hard work. 'Both the AI chip and software teams were built from scratch within Tesla,' he added. The small fleet of vehicles do not yet include the Cybercab – the futuristic car concept unveiled by Musk at Tesla's 'We, Robot' event in October – which Musk says will be the company's driverless taxi in the future. Instead it was existing Tesla vehicles, with a small 'robotaxi' logo on the side, that took to Austin streets. Bidding to beat rivals Forrester analyst Paul Miller described the launch of the pilot as a low-key affair. 'As expected, only a handful of vehicles are available right now, they only operate in a small part of the city and there's a safety driver in the vehicle in case it encounters situations it cannot handle autonomously', he said. But he added that the move highlighted the company's ambitions to rival firms already offering driverless ride-hailing in the US and around the world. Waymo, owned by Google parent Alphabet, along with Amazon's Zoox, already offer self-driving taxi rides in Austin, as well as in San Francisco, California, and Phoenix, Arizona. Meanwhile Uber, which recently announced it would bring forward trials of driverless taxis in the UK, has partnered with Chinese firms WeRide and Momenta to bring autonomous ride-hailing to more cities outside the US and China. Mr Miller said Tesla is betting that the volume of cars it delivers, data it has from vehicles and cheaper, camera-based self-driving tech 'will allow it to come from behind and pull ahead' of rivals. But he added that its ability to compete, particularly with Chinese firms dominating the sector, will depend on improvement of its advanced assisted driving system – which Tesla calls Full Self-Driving (FSD). FSD has been subject to probes by US auto regulators and complaints from customers about its safety. 'If that FSD system isn't a big leap forward from the driver assistance tech that buyers of regular Teslas already use in some countries, it's going to need a lot of remote monitoring and control from an army of teleoperating safety drivers', Mr Miller said. 'This will add to Tesla's costs, and offer plenty of opportunities for embarrassing videos of Tesla robotaxis doing weird things'. Tesla said in a post on its X account on Monday that its robotaxi service 'will greatly increase safety for vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians & cyclists'. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is reportedly reviewing information from Tesla regarding the safety of its self-driving taxis in bad weather, following a request in May. General Motors pulled the plug on its Cruise robotaxi project in December after accidents involving its self-driving vehicles. The company also cited the increasingly competitive market as a reason for suspending its ride-hailing initiative. Source: BBC News Image Credit: Stock Image/Tesla
