- Gold steadies near record $5,185 amid U.S.-Iran talks.
- Nuclear negotiations extended one week after Geneva round.
- Spot gold up 3.5% this week; futures dip.
- Silver falls 2.5% below $90 per ounce.
Frames of the gold prices took close to records highs on Friday, as the United States agreed to extend the nuclear negotiations by a week with Iran due to its poor performance in the third round of negotiations in Geneva the previous day, where prices stood at $5,185.75 per ounce.
Bullion has been torn between two differing sides all week safe-haven demand because of geopolitical tension, and the uncertainty of US tariffs, had one side against its counterpart, possible diplomatic grand bargain, which would bring down the risk premium of gold.
Negotiations Broken Off on Enrichment; Military Strengthening holds Prices
According to the Omani mediators, Geneva negotiations achieved a lot. However, Bloomberg has stated that one of the people associated with the US side claimed that officials went home disappointed.
The stalemate focused on the insisting of Washington who demanded zero uranium enrichment and a stipulation that Tehran should hand over all 60 per cent of uranium enriched to the United States. Oil shot up over a dollar a barrel, then slightly came down when news emerged that the negotiation had hit a snag. One of the senior officials in Iran informed Reuters that a deal could be achieved in case, the US makes a distinction between nuclear and non-nuclear issues, but warned that there were still loopholes that had to be closed.
An ongoing US military build-up in the Middle East ordered by President Trump is expected to continue as a foundation of bullion. Carlo Alberto De Casa, external analyst at Swissquote, indicated that a bullish contributor was "Iran-US persisting tensions and the unknown with Trump tariffs to the global economy.
Spot Gold Gains 3.5 percent in Week, Futures Fall; Silver Declines
On Friday morning, spot gold closed 0.4 percent higher in Asia and will end the week with a gain of about 3.5 per cent. The April delivery in the US gold futures fell 0.6 per cent to $5,194.20.
Spot silver dropped 2.5 per cent to $87.14 per ounce and could not defend against the $90 mark.
PCE Data in Focus; Analysts Track to $5, 500, then $6, 000 Mark
The markets are waiting on Friday's US Personal Consumption Expenditures index, the favorite indicator of inflation as preferred by the Fed, to give direction on the direction of the rate.
January Fed minutes indicated that policy makers were divided on the possibility of increasing the levels in case inflation remains high and reducing in case the pressures drop, and the markets were whether to price in two cuts in 2026. Unemployment claims per week decreased to 206,000 as compared to the 225,000 projected, which is an indicator of resilience of the labour market.
Also Read: US Equities Post Weekly Gains As Traders Weigh COVID Impact
Forex market analyst at FOREX.com Razan Hilal forecasts that the break above resistance levels at $5,200 and $90 have yet to be sustained, but gold and silver may break to $6,000 and extend to $5,500. Based in Malaysia RHB Retail Research analyst Joseph Chai suggests a near term move to $6,000 and a break to $5,500.
