(Kitco News) - Gold prices are modestly down and silver is posting solid losses in early U.S. trading Thursday. Weighing on the two precious metals is a higher U.S. dollar index that hit a two-week high overnight, and an uptick in U.S. Treasury yields. June gold was last down $35.20 at $4,717.30. May silver prices were down $3.186 at $74.77.
Latest on the war in the Middle East…
--U.S. intercepts Iran oil supertankers as Tehran keeps Strait of Hormuz shut
--U.S. says it awaits Iran response on talks as Hormuz tensions rise
--Gold falls as U.S.-Iran Hormuz standoff heightens inflation risk
The U.S. military said it intercepted two Iranian oil supertankers that tried to evade its blockade as Washington continues to stymie the Islamic Republic’s shipping and Tehran threatens vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Bloomberg said the very large crude carriers Hedy and Hero II are anchored at Chabahar, an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman, after being intercepted earlier this week, U.S. Central Command said Wednesday on X. “The enforcement actions suggest a tiny amount of petroleum is now reaching global markets through the world’s most important oil channel. That’s because — up until the American blockade started — Iran had been the only nation sending meaningful amounts through it during the war. On Wednesday, Tehran reminded the world of its ability to scare off seafarers and commercial shipping attempting to sail through the strait, attacking at least three vessels and diverting two of them into its waters,” said the report.
Greenback still dominates the currency pack... The conflict in the Middle East is solidifying the U.S. dollar’s dominant role in global trade, according to one measure of activity in the interbank foreign-exchange markets, said a Bloomberg report. The U.S. currency’s portion of international transactions rose to a record 51.1% in March, up from 49.2% a month earlier, according to the latest data compiled by global financial messaging service Swift, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. That’s the highest share since 2023 when the Belgium-headquartered consortium revised how it collects the transaction data. Large global banks use Swift to communicate with each other and facilitate interbank currency deals. The world’s primary reserve currency was followed by the Euro, which carried about a 21% share via Swift, then the pound, yen, Chinese yuan and Canadian dollar. “Dollar weakness seen last year has not translated into any clear decline in the dollar’s role as a reserve or base currency for capital markets,” a JPMorgan research team led by Joyce Chang said.
Eurozone private sector contracts the most in 17 months, but manufacturing upbeat… The Eurozone Composite purchasing managers index (PMI) dropped to 48.6 in April, missing expectations of 50.2 and marking the sharpest contraction since November of 2024. Services contracted sharply as the U.S.-Iran war’s energy cost surge squeezed demand, while manufacturing expanded at slightly faster pace despite supply challenges. Meantime, the Eurozone’s Manufacturing PMI climbed to 52.2 in April 2026 from 51.6 in March, surpassing expectations of 50.8 and marking the strongest improvement in business conditions since May of 2022. Production growth hit its fastest pace since August 2025, while new orders expanded at the quickest rate in four years, boosted by the first rise in export demand since February 2022.
The key outside markets see Nymex WTI crude oil prices higher and trading around $94.50 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index is firmer. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is presently at 4.32 percent.
Note: The gold market operates through two primary pricing mechanisms. The first is the spot market, which quotes prices for on-the-spot purchase and immediate delivery. The second is the futures market, which sets prices for delivery at a future date. Due to year-end positioning market liquidity, the December gold futures contract is currently the most actively traded on the CME.
Technically, June gold futures bulls’ next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at $5,000.00. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $4,500.00. First resistance is seen at the overnight high of $4,771.30 and then at $4,800.00. First support is seen at this week’s low of $4,685.80 and then at $4,626.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 5.5.
May silver futures next upside price objective for the bulls is closing prices above solid technical resistance at the April high of $83.245. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $70.00. First resistance is seen at $76.00 and then at today’s high of $78.405. Next support is seen at $72.00 and then at $70.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 5.5.
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