Gold traded sharply lower early Friday as the dollar and yields climbed on concerns around inflation and concerns the rise in oil prices will force central banks to hike interest rates.
Gold for June delivery was last seen down $136.10 to US$4,549.20 per ounce, the lowest since May 4.
The drop comes as traders continue to turn to the dollar and bonds to counter fears of higher interest rates, seeing gold as no safe store of value amid rising inflation. The United States this week reported consumer and wholesale prices surged last month as the war on Iran produced the largest-ever energy supply shock, pushing up oil prices by half.
"Inflation data saw yields rise and gold fall. Overall, the Iran conflict has held gold back despite the abundant uncertainty. We still expect for that uncertainty to turn more gold positive eventually," Christopher Louney, a gold and natural gas analyst at RBC Capital Markets, wrote.
The dollar rose early, with the ICE dollar index last seen up 0.41 points to 99.23, the highest since April 7. Treasury yields were also sharply higher. The yield on the two-year note was last seen up 4.1 basis points to 4.071, while the 10-year note was paying 4.563%, up 7.4 points to the highest since May 21. 2025.