1. Gold edged down amid mounting inflation concerns, after U.S.-Iran peace talks ended without resolution and Washington’s plan to blockade the Strait of Hormuz deepened a global energy-supply shock. Bullion fell as much as 2.2% to trade below $4,650 an ounce, before paring much of the loss. The jump in energy prices since the conflict began has raised inflationary risks, making it more likely that central banks will delay cutting interest rates or even hiking them. This is a negative for non-yielding bullion, which benefits from lower borrowing costs. Stocks fell, and a gauge of the dollar rose 0.3% on Monday, also a headwind for gold that’s priced in the U.S. currency. In an early reading of the war’s impact on the economy, March inflation climbed by the most in nearly four years, with an increase in gasoline prices responsible for nearly three-quarters of the monthly advance, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday.
2. Existing home sales declined sharply in March, a sign that the 6% mortgage rates of earlier this year did little to bring buyers back into the market. Home sales dropped 3.6% month over month in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.98 million, and they are down 1% from a year ago, according to National Association of Realtors data released on Monday. Economists expected a far smaller monthly decline of 0.7%. Homes that sold in March likely went under contract in February or late January. Back then, mortgage rates were near multiyear lows, but the drop might not have lasted long enough to bring buyers back to the market in a meaningful way, said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist.
3. U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday while oil prices fell as President Trump signaled he’s open to further talks with Iran, stoking optimism for a long-term truce. The S&P 500 edged up 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained a stronger 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which includes fewer tech names, rose less than 0.1% above the flat line. On Monday, the Wall Street benchmarks eked out small wins after software stocks ripped higher. U.S. producer prices rose more slowly than expected in March, relieving some inflation worries amid the Middle East conflict. The leading indicator was up 0.5% over the previous month; BLS data showed, compared with economists’ expectations for an increase of 1.1%.
4. Bitcoin surged 4% on Tuesday. But Wall Street analysts caution the recent price action is a rally within crypto’s ongoing bear market as the token sits roughly 40% off its October record. The recent rebound has been driven by short covering in derivatives markets rather than increasing spot demand. That means traders who had bet on falling prices have been forced to buy bitcoin to close out their positions, a sign of a short-term move. Meanwhile, spot volumes on crypto exchanges remain near multi-year lows. This dynamic implies tepid underlying demand and keeps us cautious on BTC prices in the near term. The analysts see a higher likelihood of retesting the bottom end of a $54,000 to $78,000 range.
5. The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, suggesting labor market conditions remained stable, though employers are cautious about hiring new workers as the conflict in the Middle East casts a shadow over the economy. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 207,000 for the week ended April 11, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled had forecasted 215,000 claims for the latest week.
6. Oil’s decline deepened after Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz “is declared completely open.” Brent futures retreated near $90 a barrel in London, erasing this week’s gain, while West Texas Intermediate slumped near $85. European benchmark gas prices also fell sharply. Losses had also deepened after Axios reported that the U.S. is considering releasing $20 billion of frozen Iranian funds in exchange for the country’s stockpiles of enriched uranium, and that negotiators from the two sides would likely meet this weekend for another round of talks.
7. EUR/USD flirted with 1.1850 before retreating modestly on Friday following the bearish action seen earlier in the day. The complete re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran during the Lebanon ceasefire helps the risk mood improve and weighs on the US Dollar, opening the door for a leg higher in the pair.
8. The Japanese Yen trades lower against its major currency peers during the European trading session. The USD/JPY pair rises to near 159.50 as the Asia-Pacific currency faces selling pressure, following warnings of energy crisis-driven high inflation and weak economic growth by Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda in his comments delivered earlier in the day.
Commodities markets are reacting dramatically to the Friday morning announcement that Iran has completely reopened the Strait of Hormuz to all maritime traffic. Gold prices had been rallying since the spot price broke definitively above the $4,800 per ounce resistance level shortly after 8:20 am Eastern, but the announcements of the reopening of the Strait added rocket fuel to the upward move, driving spot gold to a daily high of $4,890.78 just 5 minutes later. 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. May silver futures bulls see their next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $85.00. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $70.00.
U.S. import prices increased less than expected in March, though the trend still pointed to firming imported inflationary pressures as the Middle East conflict boosts oil prices and snarls supply chains. “The less-than-expected increase in import prices most likely reflects timing differences between when the oil that entered U.S. ports was shipped and the spot price of oil,” said John Ryding, chief economic advisor at Brean Capital. “The average crude oil price arriving in the United States in March was up 7.8% compared to a Brent price of 45.5%. The bulk of the March oil price increase has yet to show up in this report.” Import prices rose 0.8% last month after a downwardly revised 0.9% gain in February, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Economists polled had forecasted import prices, which excluded tariffs, increasing 2.0% after a previously reported 1.3% rise in February. The BLS asks businesses to provide import prices for the first business day of the month, or as close to that day as possible.
Mortgage rates fell to their lowest point in a month this week, as war worries eased, and the S&P 500 set a new record high. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell seven basis points to 6.30% for the week ending Wednesday, according to Freddie Mac. “Compared to one year ago, when rates were at 6.83%, this is a meaningful improvement for homebuyers during what is typically the busy spring homebuying season,” Sam Khater, chief economist of Freddie Mac, said in a release.
Volatility should be expected to remain high as investors will be closely watching for hints on the upcoming monetary policy direction. Many investors have redoubled their efforts to ensure that their portfolios are sufficiently diversified in the hope that they will be able to withstand corrections in multiple market sectors. Many of these investors have included physical precious metals as part of their diversification plans, given their long history as a hedge against both inflation and during times of economic turmoil. Remember, the key to profitability through the ownership of physical precious metals is to own the physical product and hold it for the long term. Always remember that you should never overextend your ability to maintain ownership of your precious metals over the long run.
Trading Department – Precious Metals International Ltd.
Friday to Friday Close (New York Closing Prices)
| Apr. 10, 2026 | Apr. 17, 2026 | Net Change | ||
| Gold | $4,760.34 | $4,861.94 | 101.60 | 2.13% |
| Silver | $76.17 | $81.77 | 5.60 | 7.35% |
| Platinum | $2,059.31 | $2,125.59 | 66.28 | 3.22% |
| Palladium | $1,530.31 | $1,577.84 | 47.53 | 3.11% |
| Dow | 47916.51 | 49445.80 | 1529.29 | 3.19% |
Previous Year Comparison
| Apr. 18, 2025 | Apr. 17, 2026 | Net Change | ||
| Gold | $3,318.03 | $4,861.94 | 1543.91 | 46.53% |
| Silver | $32.48 | $81.77 | 49.29 | 151.75% |
| Platinum | $970.73 | $2,125.59 | 1154.86 | 118.97% |
| Palladium | $960.00 | $1,577.84 | 617.84 | 64.36% |
| Dow | 39142.23 | 49445.80 | 10303.57 | 26.32% |
Here are your Short-Term Support and Resistance Levels for the upcoming week.
| Gold | Silver | |
| Support | 4735/4614/4479 | 74.50/71.19/66.49 |
| Resistance | 4869/4990/5124 | 79.20/82.51/87.22 |
| Platinum | Palladiumn | |
| Support | 2025/1925/1801 | 1525/1422/1320 |
| Resistance | 2148/2249/2372 | 1628/1731/1833 |