Gold Heads for Second Weekly Drop
2026-06-12 11:11
By
Joana Ferreira
1 min. read
Gold traded around $4,200 per ounce on Friday, as oil prices fell on growing optimism for a US-Iran peace deal.
However, bullion remained on track for a second consecutive weekly decline due to expectations of higher interest rates.
US President Donald Trump suggested a deal could be reached as early as this weekend, though Tehran stated no final decision had been made.
Since the Iran conflict began, gold has faced pressure amid concerns that surging energy costs could drive inflation higher, reinforcing expectations that central banks will maintain elevated interest rates.
Supporting this view, the European Central Bank raised interest rates on Thursday for the first time since 2023 and upwardly revised its inflation forecasts for 2026 and 2027.
Additionally, US producer prices climbed 6.5% year-over-year in May, underscoring the inflationary impact of the Middle East energy shock and strengthening expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike this year.