Key Points:
- Gold prices plunged over 4% after Trump’s speech lacked a clear peace plan.
- The President promised “extremely hard” strikes against Iran for the next few weeks.
- Silver fell 7% as investors sold off precious metals to cover other losses.
- High oil prices and a stronger dollar continue to pressure global markets.
Gold prices took a nose dive on Thursday after a major speech from President Trump. Investors were hoping for a clear plan to end the war, but the President’s latest address left everyone guessing. Instead of a ceasefire, Trump promised more heavy strikes, which sent the metal’s price sliding by more than 4% and broke a four-day winning streak.
During his prime-time talk, Trump claimed the U.S. military has almost reached all its goals. However, he warned that the U.S. would hit Iran “extremely hard” over the next two or three weeks before leaving. He also told U.S. allies that they need to step up and fix the blocked shipping lanes in the Middle East themselves, rather than relying on the American military.
While gold fell, the U.S. dollar got stronger and oil prices jumped. People are still very worried about the Strait of Hormuz, where a huge chunk of the world’s energy travels. This uncertainty usually makes gold go up, but right now, the opposite is happening. Investors are selling their gold just to pay for losses in the stock market, a move called liquidation.
This “forced selling” is part of why gold just had its worst month since the 2008 financial crisis. In March alone, the metal’s value dropped by nearly 12%. High oil prices are making inflation worse, which makes it less likely that the government will lower interest rates any time soon. This combination is killing the traditional appeal of gold as a safe place to hide money.
Silver investors had an even worse day, as that metal’s price crashed by 7%. Other precious metals like platinum and palladium followed the same downward path. Because the U.S. dollar is rising, these metals have become more expensive for international buyers, which has further weakened the global demand.
Traders are now trying to get out of the market before the long holiday weekend. Since the markets will be closed for Good Friday, many people want to reduce their risks as much as possible. They are worried that more big news might break while they cannot trade, leading to another round of panic selling.
By the afternoon in Singapore, spot gold sat at around $4,562. Experts think the price will stay shaky as long as there is talk of a U.S. ground operation in Iran. Without a real peace deal on the table, the “safe haven” of gold isn’t feeling very safe for investors right now.
