(Kitco NewsWire) - Spot gold prices are weaker and spot silver prices are firmer after the North American cash-market close Tuesday, as stronger U.S. labor-market data pushed Treasury yields higher and kept Federal Reserve rate-hike risk at the center of the precious-metals trade. At the time of writing, spot gold was trading near $4,006.70 an ounce, down 0.22%, while spot silver was trading near $58.470, up 0.50% on the session.
Gold’s New York spot range was $3,944.00 to $4,064.10, leaving the metal above last week’s sub-$4,000 support test but below the resistance levels needed to confirm a recovery. Silver held a firmer tone, with the New York spot range at $56.53 to $60.55, helped by a lower gold-silver ratio and stronger relative momentum.
The post-Fed reaction remains the main positioning constraint. The FOMC held the target range at 3.50% to 3.75% on June 17 in a 12-0 vote, while the June projections lifted the median 2026 funds-rate path to 3.8% from 3.4% in March and raised the 2026 PCE inflation projection to 3.6% from 2.7%. Tuesday’s stronger JOLTS print reinforced that setup: job openings rose to 7.594 million in May from 7.585 million in April, against expectations for 7.3 million, and the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.469% by 5:05 p.m. ET.
The Strait of Hormuz situation is best characterized as recovering flow with unstable political risk. Oil shipments through the strait have returned close to prewar levels in tanker terms, but Iran still holds leverage over routing, inspections and traffic management after the U.S.-Iran ceasefire framework. Oil prices showed the split: WTI traded lower near $70.03 a barrel while Brent was higher near $73.45, leaving crude below the June panic highs but still sensitive to any new tanker incident or breakdown in talks. For gold, that means a smaller insurance bid than earlier in the month, while the oil channel still matters because any renewed supply shock would feed directly into inflation and Fed expectations.
The key outside markets see Nymex WTI crude oil prices lower and trading around $70.03 a barrel, while Brent crude was near $73.45. The U.S. dollar index is slightly firmer near 101.17. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is trading near the 4.5% area.
Technically, spot gold bulls' next upside price objective is to push prices back above the $4,063.00 to $4,096.00 resistance zone, with a sustained move targeting $4,107.00 and then $4,201.00. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is a break below $3,959.00, with deeper downside targets at $3,927.00 and then $3,886.00. First resistance is seen at $4,063.00 and then at $4,096.00. First support is seen at $3,959.00 and then at $3,927.00.
Spot silver bulls' next upside price objective is to drive prices back above the $61.00 to $62.00 area, with a move above that zone targeting $65.00 and then $66.00. The next downside price objective for the bears is a break below the $56.00 to $57.00 support zone, with deeper downside targets at $55.00 and then $54.00. First resistance is seen at $61.00 and then at $62.00. Next support is seen at $57.00 and then at $56.00.
