Gold rises to one-month high as Strait of Hormuz called 'completely open'

[stack of shiny gold bars 3d illustration]
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Gold and silver futures settled higher while crude oil and the dollar pushed lower Friday, as Iran's announcement that the Strait of Hormuz is "completely open" to commercial traffic could set a path for ending the Middle East war and reducing recessionary risks.

"Reopening the strait was a key event, and with oil prices under pressure, it is expected to ease inflation concerns and revive expectations of interest rate cuts — all good news ⁠for gold," Zaner Metals senior metals strategist Peter Grant said, adding that gold prices ‌could see short-term gains back above the $5,000 level.

The news is "particularly positive for silver, as its fundamentals are now in place to strengthen," as industrial demand and improved appetite for precious metals as a safe-haven asset should provide a boost, Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities said in a note.

Gold has room to move higher, if an end of the war leads to a weaker U.S. dollar and lower yields, Cardillo added, as a weaker dollar and lower rates are positive for the metal which is priced in the greenback and pays no interest.

Front-month Comex gold (XAUUSD:CUR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/XAUUSD:CUR]) for April delivery closed up 1.5% to $4,857.60/oz, its highest settlement value since March 18, and front-month Comex April silver surged 4% to $81.738/oz, its best close since March 12; for the week, gold and silver gained 2% and 7.1%, respectively.

ETFs: ((GLD), (GDX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GDX]), (GDXJ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GDXJ]), (IAU [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/IAU]), (NUGT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NUGT]), (PHYS [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PHYS]), (GLDM [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GLDM]), (AAAU [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AAAU]), (SGOL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SGOL]), (DUST [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/DUST]), (RING [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/RING]), (BAR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BAR]), (OUNZ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/OUNZ]), (SLV [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SLV]), (PSLV [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PSLV]), (SIVR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SIVR]), (SIL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SIL]), (SILJ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SILJ])

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