Geopolitics has hit gold: precious metal ends week with maximum drop in a month and a half

10:29 - 17.07.2026


July 17, Fineko/abc.az. The escalation of the conflict between the U.S. and Iran has triggered a spike in oil prices (nearly 12% per week), which has increased inflation expectations and put strong pressure on the gold market.

Despite moderate inflation data in the U.S., spot gold lost nearly 3.2% over the week, recording the worst dynamics over the past 6 weeks and trading at $3,988.20 per ounce.

Analysts note that the threat of a new round of inflation due to expensive fuel increases the likelihood of a rise in Fed's interest rate in December to 73%, which reduces attractiveness of interest-free gold in favor of high-yielding assets.

Against this backdrop, other precious metals also ended the week in the red: spot silver declined to $55.22, platinum to $1,605.62, and palladium to $1,244.86 per ounce.