Gold flat lines above $4,200 as bearish bias remains amid Iran uncertainty, Fed hike bets
- Gold meets with a fresh supply on Friday as the Iran peace deal uncertainty lifts the USD.
- Hawkish Fed expectations could support the USD and cap attempted recovery for the bullion.
- The XAU/USD pair remains on track to register heavy losses for the second straight week.
Gold (XAU/USD) recovers modest intraday losses and turns flat during the first half of the European session on Friday, though it remains below the daily peak. Despite uncertainty over the US-Iran peace deal, a steadier mood fails to help the US Dollar (USD) in preserving its gains. This, in turn, is seen as a key factor offering some support to the commodity. However, mixed signals regarding a potential US-Iran peace deal, along with hawkish US Federal Reserve (Fed) expectations, favor the USD bulls and should cap the upside for the non-yielding yellow metal.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that a deal had been reached with Iran and the final document could be signed soon, perhaps even over the weekend. The optimism, however, fades rather quickly as Iran countered that it had not reached a final decision on an agreement. Furthermore, reports suggest that Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not agreed to the proposed US peace deal. Adding to this, Iran's Foreign Ministry reportedly said that key issues, including Hormuz access and frozen funds, remain unresolved, per Fars.
Meanwhile, Iranian forces blocked a tanker from transiting through the strategic waterway without coordination, underscoring uncertainty over Iran's position. Adding to this, Fox News reported that US forces intercepted and shot down two Iranian one-way attack drones near the Strait of Hormuz. The latest developments keep geopolitical risk premiums in play and trigger a modest recovery in Crude Oil prices, fueling inflationary concerns. This comes amid signs of re-accelerating inflation in the US, backing the case for higher-for-longer interest rates.
The US Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) released this week pointed to re-accelerating inflation, reaffirming bets that the US central bank will raise borrowing costs by the year-end. This further acts as a tailwind for the Greenback and weighs on the Gold. Traders, however, might refrain from placing aggressive bearish bets around the XAU/USD pair and opt to wait for further developments surrounding the Middle East crisis. Nevertheless, the commodity remains on track to register heavy losses for the second consecutive week.
XAU/USD daily chart
Gold needs to find acceptance above 23.6% Fibo. to back the case for further gains
From a technical perspective, the precious metal retains a bearish near-term bias beneath the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA). Moreover, Friday's failure near the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level of downfall from the April monthly swing high suggests that the overnight recovery might still be categorized as a short-covering move.
Meanwhile, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) remains in negative territory with the line below its signal and a still-negative histogram. Adding to this, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) hovers in the mid-30s, both of which hint that downside pressure persists despite a modest rebound from recent lows.
On the topside, initial resistance emerges at the 23.6% Fibo. around $4,229, followed by the 38.2% level near $4,355. Higher up, the 200-day SMA at about $4,450 and the adjacent 50% retracement at roughly $4,456 form a stronger cap, before the 61.8% level at $4,558 and the 78.6% retracement at $4,703 open the way toward the $4,887 cycle high. On the downside, the key support to watch is the recent swing low around $4,026, where a break would signal scope for a deeper corrective leg.
(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool.)
US Dollar Price This week
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies this week. US Dollar was the strongest against the Canadian Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.54% | -0.60% | -0.11% | 0.32% | -0.23% | -0.74% | -0.09% | |
| EUR | 0.54% | -0.08% | 0.50% | 0.87% | 0.32% | -0.19% | 0.46% | |
| GBP | 0.60% | 0.08% | 0.54% | 0.96% | 0.40% | -0.11% | 0.54% | |
| JPY | 0.11% | -0.50% | -0.54% | 0.40% | -0.13% | -0.68% | 0.06% | |
| CAD | -0.32% | -0.87% | -0.96% | -0.40% | -0.48% | -1.07% | -0.41% | |
| AUD | 0.23% | -0.32% | -0.40% | 0.13% | 0.48% | -0.50% | 0.14% | |
| NZD | 0.74% | 0.19% | 0.11% | 0.68% | 1.07% | 0.50% | 0.66% | |
| CHF | 0.09% | -0.46% | -0.54% | -0.06% | 0.41% | -0.14% | -0.66% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
(This story was corrected on June 12 at 09:38 GMT to change the day of the week to Friday, not Thursday.)
Author
Haresh Menghani
FXStreet
Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.
