LONDON (dpa-AFX) – The prices for the two precious metals gold and silver fell sharply again at the start of the week. A troy ounce (around 31.1 grams) of gold cost just over $4,300 in early trading on Monday, four percent less than on Friday evening. In the Iran war, unlike in many other wars and crises before it, gold is anything but the so-called safe haven. Since the start of the American-Israeli attacks on Iran, the price of gold has lost more than 18 percent, after rising to almost $5,420 in the first days of the war.
Since the start of the Iran conflict, sharply rising oil prices have increased inflation risks and reduced the prospects of imminent interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve and other central banks. Higher interest rates tend to weigh on precious metals because they do not pay interest.
With Monday’s decline, all of the gains from the beginning of the year have been erased. Since the record high of almost $5,600 at the end of January, losses have now amounted to almost $1,300 or 23 percent. The development for silver is even more drastic. The price of a troy ounce of silver has lost almost half of its record level of just under $122 since the end of January. On Monday, the price of silver fell another five percent to $64.25. Since the start of the Iran war just over three weeks ago, silver has fallen in price by more than 30 percent./eg/piece
