Gold and silver prices sharply declined Tuesday morning, reaching three-week lows following reports that Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based militant group, expressed interest in discussing a ceasefire with Israel. The news, signaling a potential de-escalation of heightened Middle East tensions, led to a downturn in the precious metals market. December gold futures fell by $33.10 to $2,632.80, while December silver futures dropped $1.40 to $30.61.
The ceasefire talks also weighed on crude oil prices, with Nymex crude plummeting by $3.75 a barrel to $73.50 after hitting a 3.5-month high earlier in the day. The U.S. dollar index climbed to a daily high, and U.S. Treasury yields ticked upward, with the 10-year note yield standing at 4.028%. These external market factors exerted additional bearish pressure on precious metals.
U.S. stock indexes rallied in response to the news, further dampening the appeal of safe-haven assets like gold and silver.
In addition to Middle East developments, investors were disappointed by China’s National Development and Reform Commission’s anticipated economic briefing, which failed to deliver new stimulus measures. This underwhelming announcement triggered sell-offs in Chinese stocks, with the Hang Seng index experiencing its biggest single-day loss in nearly two years, dropping nearly 10%.
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