News
Monday, June 15, 2026
What’s happening: Gold prices rose this morning after the US and Iran reached a preliminary peace deal.
What happened: Oil prices moved lower, easing concerns over inflation and higher interest rates, which helped gold record gains for the third straight session.
Weakness in the US dollar also provided a boost to the yellow metal prices during the session.
Why it matters: US and Iran officials said on Sunday that the countries had agreed on a framework to end the conflict, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lift the US blockade. The deal is scheduled to be officially signed in Switzerland on Friday.
The announcement sent crude oil prices sharply lower, easing inflation concerns. Spot price for WTI crude oil dipped 5.2% to $81.02 a barrel this morning.
Gold prices have fallen around 20% since the beginning of US-Iran conflict in late February as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz resulted in a spike in crude oil prices, triggering speculations of central banks keeping interest rates higher for longer.
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at its monetary policy meeting this week. Investors have also lowered expectations of a rate hike in December following the peace deal.
Weakness in the US dollar lent further support to gold prices, as a softer greenback makes metals cheaper for foreign currency holders. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance versus a basket of major peers, fell around 0.2% to 99.60 this morning.
Spot price for gold rose 2.6% to $4,327.61 an ounce this morning, rising for the third session in a row.
In other metals trading, spot price for silver surged 3.9% to $70.6195 an ounce this morning, platinum climbed 3.6% to $1,782.51 and palladium jumped 3.8% to $1,335.25.
What to watch: Investors will continue monitoring peace talks between the US and Iran.
The US Federal Reserve will hold its first monetary policy meeting under new Fed chief Kevin Warsh on Wednesday, with the central bank widely expected to hold interest rates.
Context: The EUR/USD forex pair gained this morning following weakness in the US dollar.
Details: The USD moved lower this morning, with the US dollar index hitting its weakest level in over a week. Iran agreeing to a peace deal with Washington, which would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, lowered demand for the safe-haven greenback.
The announcement also sent crude oil prices to a two-month low, easing concerns over inflation and tighter monetary policy.
Weakness in the US dollar lent support to the EUR/USD forex pair. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance versus a basket of major peers, fell around 0.2% to 99.60.
Last week, the European Central Bank raised its benchmark interest rates for the first time in three years. Investors now expect another rate hike in September.
The ECB also raised its inflation projections, now projecting headline inflation at 3.0% in 2026 and 2.3% in 2027, up from their prior projections of 2.6% and 2.3%, respectively. The central bank also lowered its economic growth forecast for the Eurozone to 0.8% in 2026 and 1.2% next year.
The EUR/USD pair rose around 0.3% to 1.1599 this morning, while the EUR/GBP forex pair edged higher to 0.8632.
What to watch: Investors will continue monitoring developments related to the US-Iran peace talks, with the agreement scheduled to be inked on Friday.
Data on Eurozone’s balance of trade (1300 UAE Time) and industrial production (1300 UAE Time) will be released today. The Eurozone’s trade surplus, which fell to €7.8 billion in March from a record €34.1 billion in the year-ago period, is expected to rise to €12.5 billion in April. Analysts expect Eurozone’s industrial production to grow by 0.5% in April following a 0.2% gain in March.
Other Markets: US trading indices closed higher on Friday, with the Dow Jones index, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 up by 0.70%, 0.50% and 0.64%, respectively.
Ukraine launched a drone attack on a Tamanneftegaz oil and gas terminal in southern Russia. The news sent the USD/RUB pair higher in forex trading this morning.
New Zealand’s electronic card transactions rose 1.7% in May, rebounding from the previous month’s 1.2% decline, which lent support to the NZD/USD forex pair.
Brazil’s new vehicle sales surged 10.6% to 274,700 units in May, which sent the USD/BRL pair lower in forex trading this morning.
India’s inflation rate accelerated to 3.9% in May from 3.5% in the previous month. The latest reading coming in below market estimates of 4% exerted pressure on the USD/INR forex pair.
Hong Kong’s manufacturing production rose 3.1% year-over-year in the first quarter, easing from 5.8% in the previous three-month period, which sent the USD/HKD pair higher in forex trading this morning.
Italy’s balance of trade (1200 UAE Time), Turkey’s budget balance (1200 UAE Time), India’s unemployment rate (1430 UAE Time), Canada’s housing starts (1615 UAE Time), manufacturing sales (1630 UAE Time), wholesale sales (1630 UAE Time), US NY Empire State manufacturing index (1630 UAE Time), industrial production (1715 UAE Time) and capacity utilization (1715 UAE Time), manufacturing production (1715 UAE Time), NAHB housing market index (1800 UAE Time) as well as Brazil’s business confidence (1800 UAE Time).