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Gold prices fluctuated sharply in the first trading session of May and closed lower, pressured by a rebound in the U.S. dollar. However, with oil prices falling after positive news on peace talks between the United States and Iran, the decline in gold was limited.
At the close on Friday (May 1), spot gold in New York slipped $8/oz, or 0.17%, to $4,615.4/oz, according to Kitco data.
Silver rose $1.59/oz, or 2.16%, to $75.47/oz.
On the COMEX futures market, gold futures fell 0.09% to $4,625.6/oz.
During the session, spot gold traded at times below $4,560/oz and at other times above $4,660/oz, spanning a range of more than $100/oz.
Gold faced downside pressure as the dollar recovered after a sharp drop the previous session. The Dollar Index rose 0.16% to 98.21.
On Thursday, the Dollar Index slid more than 0.9% as the yen strengthened following reports that Japanese authorities intervened in the FX market to support the currency trading near multi-year lows.
Gold was supported by weaker crude oil prices after positive news on progress toward a peace agreement to end the war between the U.S. and Iran. Pakistani officials, acting as mediators, told MS NOW that they had received an updated proposal from Iran and that the proposal had been forwarded to the U.S.
Brent crude on the London market fell nearly 2%, settling at $108.17/bbl. WTI on the New York market settled at $101.94/bbl.
Oil’s rise had been a key downward pressure on the precious metals complex in recent times, as higher energy costs feed inflation and increase expectations that central banks will keep rates higher for longer. Gold, which yields nothing, tends to struggle in a high-rate environment.
This week, the U.S. Federal Reserve kept rates unchanged and signaled it would wait to assess the impact of the war on U.S. growth and inflation before acting. The market is now pricing in no rate cuts in 2026.
“Good news on peace negotiations helped gold rebound after a deep intraday drop. If the war ends, the Fed could start cutting rates. That would push the USD lower and be supportive for gold,” said Chris Gaffney, President of Global Markets at EverBank, in an interview with Reuters.
The tug-of-war in gold prices reflects investor uncertainty over when the U.S. and Iran will end the war or reopen the Hormuz Strait. After Pakistan’s update on May 1, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was not satisfied with Iran’s proposal.
The SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed ETF, stopped net selling in this session after a run of outflows, yet gold still finished the week with a loss.
SPDR Gold Trust did not take on net buying or selling on Friday, holding holdings at 1,035.8 tonnes of gold. However, the fund sold 10.8 tonnes during the week.
Spot gold fell more than 2% for the week. The weekly close equates to about VND 146.6 million per tael when converted at Vietcombank’s USD selling rate.
The USD reference rate on Vietcombank’s website stood at VND 26,108 (buy) and VND 26,368 (sell), unchanged from the previous week. The Dollar Index fell 0.33% for the week, according to MarketWatch.
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