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Friday, July 24, 2026
What’s happening: Gold prices edged lower this morning, but remained on course to record a modest weekly gain.
What happened: Gold prices remained under pressure, after Thursday’s more than 2% correction from a two-week high hit in the previous session.
Surging oil prices raised inflation concerns and sparked speculations of the Fed hiking interest rates.
Why it matters: US President Donald Trump threatened a “major military punishment” for Iran after two Saudi oil vessels were attacked in the Red Sea.
Iran reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz remains under their control, while also warning to retaliate by attacking US-related energy assets.
The recent escalation in conflict raised concerns over energy shipments, taking crude oil prices significantly higher. This raised inflation concerns, sparking speculations of the US Federal Reserve raising its benchmark interest rates as early as next week. Prospects of the Fed’s tighter monetary policy weighed on non-yielding assets like gold.
The European Central Bank left rates unchanged on Thursday, in-line with expectations, but indicated that it remains open to a hike in September.
Trump announced new tariffs on major trading partners ranging from 10% to 12.5%, further dampening investor sentiment.
Under the new framework, 10% tariffs will be imposed on imports from the UK, Mexico, Canada and India, while imports from Japan, Switzerland and South Korea will face duties of up to 12.5%.
Weakness in the US dollar lent some 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 0.1% to 101.38 this morning.
Spot price for gold slipped 0.1% to $4,045.55 an ounce this morning. Despite the retracement on Thursday and this morning, gold remains on track for a modest weekly gain, the first after three weeks of losses.
In other metals trading, spot price for silver edged higher to $57.6665 an ounce. Platinum declined 0.5% to $1,588.72, while palladium fell 0.9% to $1,246.06.
What to watch: Investors will keep an eye on tensions between the US and Iran.
Data on S&P Global composite PMI (1745 UAE Time), S&P Global manufacturing PMI (1745 UAE Time) and S&P Global services PMI (1745 UAE Time) from the US will be released today. The S&P Global US composite PMI, which rose to 51.9 in June from 51.5 in the previous month, is expected to improve further to 52.3 in July. Analysts expect the S&P Global manufacturing PMI to rise to 54.2 in July from 53.9 in June, while services PMI is expected to climb to 51.4 in July from 51.2 in the previous month.
Context: The Australian dollar gained versus the US dollar this morning as investors assessed the latest economic data.
Details: Data released this morning showed that the S&P Global Australia manufacturing PMI jumped to 51.7 in July from 51.5 in the previous month, recording the strongest expansion since January. The recent reading indicated growth in manufacturing activity for the fourth straight month.
The S&P Global services PMI business activity index rose to 53.0 in July from 50.5 in the previous month. This marked the strongest growth since January. Australia’s S&P Global composite PMI rose to 52.6 in July from a final reading of 50.4 in June, recording the strongest reading since January.
Investors also monitored rising tensions between the US and Iran after Trump warned of further actions against Iran. Fresh tariffs announced by the US on imports from 60 trading partners raised inflation concerns, reinforcing prospects of the Fed keeping interest rates higher for longer.
Investors also expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to hike its benchmark interest rate in August.
Weakness in the US dollar lent further support to the AUD/USD forex pair this morning. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance versus a basket of major peers, fell around 0.1% to 101.38 this morning.
The AUD/USD forex pair gained around 0.1% to 0.6975, while the S&P/ASX 200 dipped 1.1% to trade at 8,741.60 this morning.
What to watch: Investors will continue monitoring developments the situation in the Middle East.
Data on inflation rate from Australia will be released next week. The annual inflation rate in Australia, which eased to 4.0% in May from 4.2% in the previous month, is expected to rise to 4.4% in June. Analysts expect the RBA trimmed mean CPI to surge by 3.8% year-over-year in June, accelerating from 3.6% in May.
Other Markets: European indices closed lower on Thursday, with FTSE 100, DAX 40, CAC 40 and STOXX Europe 600 Index down by 0.73%, 1.56%, 1.64% and 1.18%, respectively.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said new trilateral talks among Russia, Ukraine and the US are expected to take place by autumn. The news sent the USD/RUB pair lower in forex trading this morning.
Singapore’s private home prices rose 0.5% in the second quarter, after climbing 0.9% in the previous quarter, which exerted pressure on the USD/SGD forex pair.
Japan’s S&P Global manufacturing PMI slipped to 54.7 in July from 54.8 in the previous month. The latest reading coming in above market estimates of 54.5 sent the USD/JPY pair lower in forex trading this morning.
UK’s GfK consumer confidence index surged to -17 in July from -23 in the previous month. This being the highest reading since January lent support to the GBP/USD forex pair.
Argentina’s retail sales jumped 33.1% year-over-year to ARS 670.2 billion in May, accelerating from the previous month’s 11.9%, which sent the USD/ARS pair lower in forex trading this morning.
Eurozone’s S&P Global Composite PMI (1200 UAE Time), S&P Global Manufacturing PMI (1200 UAE Time), S&P Global services PMI (1200 UAE Time) and European Central Bank’s consumer inflation expectations (1200 UAE Time), UK’s S&P Global manufacturing PMI (1230 UAE Time), S&P Global services PMI (1230 UAE Time) and S&P Global composite PMI (1230 UAE Time), US S&P Global composite PMI (1745 UAE Time), S&P Global manufacturing PMI (1745 UAE Time), S&P Global services PMI (1745 UAE Time), New home sales (1800 UAE Time), Canada’s new housing price index (1630 UAE Time), manufacturing sales (1630 UAE Time), PPI (1630 UAE Time), Raw materials prices (1630 UAE Time) and Wholesale sales (1630 UAE Time).
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