1. U.S. stocks slipped early Monday as investors eyed U.S.-Iran peace talks and Nvidia’s new laptop chip as markets faltered after reaching record highs in May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%. The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite wavered near the flat line as announcements from the Computex Taipei conference boosted tech stocks, offsetting weakness elsewhere. Wall Street enters June following a powerful monthly rally. Oil prices rebounded after pulling back late last week. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude rose 4% to $91 a barrel, while Brent crude gained 3.7% to $94. Despite the rebound, WTI logged its biggest monthly decline since April 2025, falling nearly 17% in May. Looking ahead, investors will focus on Friday’s non-farm payrolls report, one of the week’s most important economic releases. The employment data could provide fresh clues about labor market strength and help shape expectations for the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate path in the months ahead.
2. Spot gold prices are lower, and spot silver prices are firmer in early U.S. trading on Monday, as a stronger U.S. dollar and higher oil prices weighed on bullion while silver held a positive session. At the time of writing, spot gold was trading near $4,506.50 an ounce, down 0.72%, while spot silver was trading near $75.875, up 0.80% on the session. The current impact on gold is mixed: renewed conflict risk supports defensive interest, but higher oil prices lift inflation risk, Treasury yields, and the dollar. Across other markets, the clearest effects are higher crude, stronger energy-linked inflation risk, firmer equity futures, and continued volatility in shipping-sensitive sectors. Technically, spot gold bulls’ next upside price objective is to push prices back above the $4,514 to $4,550 resistance zone, with a sustained move targeting $4,576 and then $4,600. Spot silver bulls’ next upside price objective is to drive prices back above the $76.00 to $76.50 area, with a move above that zone targeting $78.00 and then $78.92.
3. U.S. manufacturing activity expanded in May at the fastest pace in four years, bolstered by a pickup in new orders and production. The measure has now signaled expansion for five straight months, pointing to renewed vigor in the manufacturing sector amid a surge in artificial intelligence investment, more favorable tax provisions, and diminished trade policy uncertainty. Nearly every manufacturing industry reported growth in the month, including printing, textiles, electrical equipment, and plastics. The only industry reporting contraction was wood production. New orders growth accelerated to a four-month high, as factory production also gained steam.
4. U.S. stocks may be vaulting from one record to the next, but Wall Street analysts covering them are in no rush to keep up. Researchers who follow individual companies and almost always predict shares will go up are slashing their views on S&P 500 Index firms at a faster pace than raising them for the second time since the war in Iran began. In the broader Russell 3000 Index, the proportion of members with a “buy” recommendation is almost exactly where it was four years ago and is well below a dot-com peak, according to data from Jefferies LLC. Whatever the exact reason behind the newfound skepticism is, it’s viewed as a healthy development. From a contrarian perspective, it means sentiment is far from reaching a fever pitch that often heralds a top. “I tend to think of sentiment through the lens of ‘are there more incremental buyers or sellers?’” said Andrew Greenebaum, senior vice president of equity research product management at Jefferies. “The sell side doesn’t show the signs of buying in — yet.”
5. In the week ending May 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 225,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 3,000 from 215,000 to 212,000. The 4-week moving average was 214,750, an increase of 6,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 750 from 209,000 to 208,250.
6. Brent crude futures held near $93 per barrel after falling 2.8% in the previous session, while WTI crude futures traded around $91 per barrel following a 3.1% decline. The stabilization comes as investors attempt to balance two competing forces. On one side are hopes that diplomatic progress between Washington and Tehran could reduce geopolitical risks. On the other are ongoing military tensions and uncertainty surrounding a fragile ceasefire effort in Lebanon. Despite the recent pullback, Brent remains more than 4% higher for the week, highlighting how geopolitical concerns continue to influence energy markets.
7. EUR/USD remains under intense selling pressure on Friday, slipping back to the vicinity of 1.1500 to hit new multi-week troughs. The pair’s severe pullback comes on the back of the robust performance of the dollar in response to firmer-than-expected NFP and steady expectations that the Fed will maintain a hawkish stance.
8. U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls beat expectations by a wide margin in May, with 172K jobs added. The U.S. dollar rebounds after the release, helping USD/JPY recover from its intraday lows. Warnings from Japanese authorities continue to limit upside potential near the 160.00 threshold.
The U.S. economy added 172,000 jobs in May, blowing past expectations, according to the government’s closely watched jobs report. The unemployment rate remained flat at 4.3%. Economists surveyed had anticipated payroll growth of 88,000 for the month. April’s jobs report, which itself was a massive beat — was also revised to show an even better 179,000 jobs gained, compared to the 115,000 reported earlier. March’s payroll growth was also updated to show 214,000, bringing the first monthly gain above 200,000 since early 2024.
Private hiring expanded at a brisk pace in May, providing further indication of a stable labor market, ADP reported Wednesday. The payroll processing firm said companies added 122,000 workers for the month, up from 105,000 in April and better than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 110,000. May marked the strongest month since January 2025. April’s total was revised down by 4,000. “Hiring was more broad-based in May than we’ve seen in the last few years,” ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said. “The labor market continues to show sustained momentum going into the summer hiring season.”
Mortgage rates remain in the mid-6s heading into the end of the typically busy homebuying season. The average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.48% for the week ending Wednesday, down slightly from 6.53% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac data. “The prospect of easing energy prices, given the evolving situation in the Middle East, brought mortgage rates slightly lower last week. The retreat in rates, however, did not lead to an increase in mortgage applications,” Joel Kan, Mortgage Bankers Association deputy chief economist, said in a statement. New listings usually peak in May or June, but new listings ticked down 0.8% month over month in May — and are now 4.1% lower than last year. Sales rose 4.8% month over month in May yet remained down 2.9% from last year.
Bitcoin posted its longest losing streak since August, weighed down by liquidations of bullish bets and this week’s rare sale of tokens by the dominant corporate buyer. The original cryptocurrency fell for the fifth straight day on Thursday, tumbling before recouping some losses. Bitcoin is now trading at a four-month low and close to testing the market bottom of around $60,000 in early February. A week marked by Strategy Inc.’s first sale of Bitcoin since 2022, unprecedented ETF outflows, and a further decoupling from record-breaking tech stocks has sapped confidence throughout the sector. “This week has been painful in crypto. There is really no other way of putting it,” Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered Plc’s head of digital asset research, said in a note. Traders wrong-footed by the steep selloff have been left nursing large losses. Almost 4 billion dollars of bullish bets have been wiped out since the start of the week, data from CoinGlass show, with Bitcoin leading the way. Bitcoin went through a six-day stretch of daily losses through Aug. 2 last year, although the declines have been far steeper this week.
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)
| May. 29, 2026 | Jun. 5, 2026 | Net Change | ||
| Gold | $4,553.54 | $4,342.12 | -211.42 | -4.64% |
| Silver | $75.40 | $68.92 | -6.48 | -8.59% |
| Platinum | $1,920.50 | $1,776.92 | -143.58 | -7.48% |
| Palladium | $1,352.05 | $1,251.96 | -100.09 | -7.40% |
| Dow | 51032.52 | 50867.15 | -165.37 | -0.32% |
Previous Year Comparison
| Jun. 6, 2025 | Jun. 5, 2026 | Net Change | ||
| Gold | $3,324.04 | $4,342.12 | 1018.08 | 30.63% |
| Silver | $36.04 | $68.92 | 32.88 | 91.23% |
| Platinum | $1,166.65 | $1,776.92 | 610.27 | 52.31% |
| Palladium | $1,051.66 | $1,251.96 | 200.30 | 19.05% |
| Dow | 42762.62 | 50867.15 | 8104.53 | 18.95% |
Here are your Short-Term Support and Resistance Levels for the upcoming week.
| Gold | Silver | |
| Support | 4336/4330/4324 | 71.76/68.24/64.70 |
| Resistance | 4347/4353/4358 | 78.82/82.35/85.87 |
| Platinum | Palladiumn | |
| Support | 1868/1815/1760 | 1327/1297/1258 |
| Resistance | 1976/2031/2084 | 1397/1436/1467 |