Gold set for weekly gain as Iran truce hopes weigh on markets

Bullion held steady near $4,765 an ounce on Friday, positioning for a weekly increase of almost 2%, News.Az reports, citing Bloomberg.

Market attention is shifting toward weekend negotiations in Islamabad, where a U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance is expected to meet Iranian officials. Investors are also awaiting the latest U.S. inflation data due later on Friday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he remained “optimistic” about reaching a deal to end the six-week conflict, though he later warned Tehran over ship passage fees in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Israeli strikes in Lebanon have raised concerns about the durability of a recently agreed fragile ceasefire.

Oil markets are heading for their biggest weekly loss since June, while global equities have recovered and the dollar has weakened by about 1.2% this week—supporting gold, which is priced in U.S. currency. However, since the conflict began at the end of February, gold has still fallen nearly 10%, as some investors liquidate positions to cover losses elsewhere.

Inflation risks linked to energy supply disruptions have increased expectations that central banks may delay interest rate cuts or even consider hikes—conditions that typically weigh on non-yielding assets like gold, which perform better in lower-rate environments.

Support for bullion has also come from sustained central bank demand. National Bank of Poland continues to target increasing its reserves to 700 tons, while the People's Bank of China added around 5 tons in March, marking its largest monthly purchase in over a year.

ANZ expects recent price pullbacks to encourage further accumulation, forecasting global central bank gold purchases of around 850 tons in 2026.

Spot gold was little changed at $4,766.30 an ounce at 1:50 p.m. Singapore time. Silver rose 0.9% to $76.03 an ounce, while Platinum declined 1.5% and palladium edged higher. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.1% after slipping in the previous session.