Gold prices jump past $4,800 per ounce after Trump delays attack on Iran

World gold prices surged, breaking above the $4,800 per ounce mark in the early hours of this morning (April 8), after President Donald Trump announced he would delay the planned attack on Iran for two weeks. The weaker U.S. dollar also provided a boost to the rally in the precious metal, though the SPDR Gold Trust ETF remained on the sidelines after several days of inflows. At the close of trading on Tuesday (April 7) in New York, spot gold was at $4,707.20 per ounce, up $57.70 per ounce from the previous session close, a gain of 1.24%, according to Kitco data. Silver finished at $73.12 per ounce, up $0.22, or 0.3%. On the COMEX futures market, the June 2026 gold contract closed at $4,684.7 per ounce, essentially flat from the prior session. Because the futures market closed a few hours earlier than the spot market, the late-day strength was not reflected in the futures. Earlier, for most of the session, gold prices wavered as investors awaited the deadline set by Trump related to the U.S.-Iran war. In a post on Truth Social late Tuesday local time, Trump said he had agreed to postpone attacks on Iran for two weeks. He said the decision was made 'on condition Iran agrees to open completely, immediately and safely the Hormuz Strait'. 'This would be a ceasefire from both sides,' Trump said, and negotiations between the U.S. and Iran would begin on Friday in Islamabad, Pakistan. Before this de-escalation, Trump had set a deadline of 8 p.m. Tuesday in Eastern Time for Iran to reach an agreement with the U.S. In the morning, he warned 'an entire civilization will die tonight'. Immediately after Trump's latest post, gold surged in early Asia trading, while crude oil and the U.S. dollar fell sharply. At 6:20 a.m. Vietnam time, spot gold was up nearly $120 per ounce, about 2.5%, trading above $4,820 per ounce. Spot silver rose more than 5%, trading near $77 per ounce. Earlier, the Dollar Index closed the Tuesday session down nearly 0.5%, at just over 99.5. SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold ETF, held its holdings steady on Tuesday at 1,054.4 tonnes of gold. The sharp rebound in gold prices after the de-escalation of the US-Iran conflict reflects expectations that lower oil prices will help ease inflationary pressures, reducing the likelihood that central banks keep rates higher for longer. Following this conflict, and as oil moved to triple-digit levels, gold faced downside pressure rather than benefiting from safe-haven status due to concerns that rates would rise with inflation globally. Prior to this latest rally, gold had fallen more than 10% from levels seen before the U.S. attack on Iran in late February. 'Gold traders are paying more attention to what central banks will do with rates than geopolitics. If the major economies stop cutting rates, that would imply weaker demand for gold,' said Jim Wyckoff of Kitco Metals. Beyond the war, investors' attention on Wednesday will focus on the minutes of the Federal Reserve's March meeting. Then on Thursday, the U.S. will release the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, followed by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Friday. All of these data will shape the Fed's rate outlook and thus affect gold. The nearest price of spot gold is equivalent to about 153 million VND per tael when converted at Vietcombank's USD selling rate. At the same time, Vietcombank's site quotes USD at 26,113 dong (buy) and 26,363 dong (sell).