Gold Holds Ground As Focus Converges On U.S. Ultimatum To Iran

(RTTNews) – Gold prices have ticked higher on Tuesday as investors sharpened their attention on the developments in the Middle East ahead of the crucial deadline served to Iran by the U.S. Rising concerns of an expansive conflict compelled traders to hold back from big moves.

Front Month Comex Gold for June month delivery has inched up by $1.70 (or 0.04%) to $4,683.00 per troy ounce.

Front Month Comex Silver for June month delivery has plunged by $0.960 (or 1.31%) to $72.155 per troy ounce.

Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face large-scale military attacks.

The deadline is set to expire by Tuesday 08:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

In his latest warning, Trump stated that if Iran does not reopen the strait, “a whole civilization will die.” Trump went on to add that “something revolutionarily wonderful” can also happen, indicating the likelihood of a success through backdoor negotiations.

Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey are working to resolve the crisis through peace talks.

Trump stated that Iran’s response so far is “not good enough” though “significant.”

Despite several warnings from Trump including a few harshly worded messages through his social media posts, Iran remains unfazed by the U.S. threats. Iran’s military dismissed Trump’s warnings as “delusional.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has counter-warned it will respond outside the region to deprive the U.S. (and its allies) of oil and gas for many years to come if the U.S. crosses the red line.

Meanwhile, U.S.-Israeli forces struck Iran’s oil hub on Kharg Island. With strict military control enforced, the island serves as the economic backbone for Iran as it processes 90% of the nation’s oil exports at nearly 950 million barrels per year.

Another Israeli strike hit a rail bridge in Kashan, Iran.

On the economic front, data released by the Automatic Data Processing Institute revealed that private employers in the U.S. added an average of 26,000 jobs per week during the four weeks ending on March 21, which is a substantial increase from the 15,250 weekly jobs created over the previous period.

Signaling a robust labor market, the data marks the third consecutive week of hiring growth.

Gold received some support after data from the People’s Bank of China showed that China has extended its gold-buying spree for 17 months consecutively until this March.

China has added 160,000 fine troy ounces, expanding its total reserves to 74.38 million fine troy ounces by the end of March an increase from previous month’s 74.22 million fine troy ounces. In U.S. dollar terms, the value of this stockpile has slipped from $387.59 billion of the previous month to $342.76 billion.

Experts are of the opinion that China’s buying streak is a result of the government’s preference to buy on every dip in a falling market.

Usually during times of geopolitical turmoil, traders turn to gold for its safe-haven value. However, since the gulf war began on February 28, investors have recalibrated their asset portfolios.

Inflation concerns due to skyrocketing oil prices compelled central banks across major economies to maintain interest rates at the current level.

As a result, buying the yellow metal became expensive for overseas buyers.

In March 2026, gold prices tumbled nearly by 16%.

The Middle East crisis continues to push oil prices higher day by day.

Today, WTI crude oil for May month delivery was last seen trading at 114.68, up by 2.27 (or 2.02%) and the U.S. dollar index was last seen trading at 99.88, up by 0.12 points (or 0.12%).

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