Gold steadies, silver slips as oil rises on Iran uncertainty
Spot gold prices are near steady and spot silver prices are lower after the close Tuesday, as a stronger U.S. dollar and firmer crude oil offset support from lower Treasury yields. At the time of writing, spot gold was trading near $4,488.30 an ounce, up 0.07%, while spot silver was trading near $75.195, up 0.44% on the session.
April job openings rose to 7.6 million from 6.9 million in March, the highest reading since May 2024 and above the 6.8 million consensus. Layoffs fell, quits declined and gross hiring also dropped, leaving a mixed labor-market signal before Friday’s May jobs report. The print supports the view that labor demand has not cracked, but softer quits and hiring point to a cautious employer and worker backdrop.
The Strait of Hormuz remains the main geopolitical transmission channel into oil, inflation expectations and precious metals. Oil settled higher as U.S.-Iran negotiations over reopening the strait remained unresolved, with traders still weighing competing signals from Washington and Tehran. Prediction-market odds of a permanent peace deal and full reopening this month have fallen from late-May highs, while earlier tanker data still showed only four vessels transiting against a pre-war daily average near 130.
The current impact on gold is two-sided: unresolved Hormuz risk supports defensive interest, but higher crude and a firmer dollar cap bullion’s upside. Across other markets, the clearest transmission remains in crude, refined fuels, shipping risk, Treasury duration, the dollar and energy-linked equities.
U.S. equities closed higher, with the S&P 500 rising 9.82 points, or 0.1%, to 7,609.78 and the Nasdaq Composite adding 7.09 points, or less than 0.1%, to 27,093.90, both record closes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 228.91 points, or 0.4%, to 51,307.79, while the Russell 2000 rose 26.20 points, or 0.9%, to 2,931.96. AI-linked semiconductor strength kept the tape bid, even as oil rose and the dollar firmed.
The key outside markets see Nymex WTI crude oil prices higher and settled around $93.76 a barrel, while Brent crude settled near $96.00. The U.S. dollar index is firmer. 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 $4,500 to $4,526 resistance zone, with a sustained move targeting $4,550 and then $4,576. Bears’ next near-term downside price objective is a break below $4,462.50, with deeper downside targets at $4,418 and then $4,400. First resistance is seen at $4,500 and then at $4,526. First support is seen at $4,462.50 and then at $4,418.
Spot silver bulls’ next upside price objective is to drive prices back above the $75.50 to $75.80 area, with a move above that zone targeting $76.55 and then $77.32. The next downside price objective for the bears is a break below $74.38, with deeper downside targets at $73.25 and then $72.00. First resistance is seen at $75.50 and then at $75.80. Next support is seen at $74.38 and then at $73.25.
