(Kitco NewsWire) - Spot gold and silver prices are weaker late Tuesday in North American trade, as higher Treasury yields, a firmer dollar and renewed Strait of Hormuz attacks offset the support metals had carried after last week’s weak payrolls report. At the time of writing, spot gold was trading near $4,127.10 an ounce, down 0.04%, while spot silver was trading near $60.859, near unchanged on the session. Front-month Comex gold settled at $4,145.30, down 0.24%, while front-month Comex silver settled at $60.931, down 1.60%.
Gold’s pullback left the market below the $4,200 area that capped the post-payrolls rebound, while silver snapped a four-session winning streak after failing to sustain trade above the $62.00 level. The metals complex remains in consolidation mode: softer U.S. labor momentum supports gold on dips, but the market still needs lower yields or a weaker dollar to turn the payrolls rally into a cleaner trend extension.
Positioning after Thursday’s June employment report remains supportive for metals, but less one-sided than the first post-data reaction. Payrolls rose 57,000 in June, below the 115,000 consensus, while unemployment fell to 4.2% and April-May payrolls were revised down by a combined 74,000. That reduced the urgency around a near-term Fed hike, but Tuesday’s market action put inflation risk back into the rates channel. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.549% and the two-year yield rose to 4.185% as oil gained on renewed Hormuz attacks, leaving gold caught between weaker labor data and a higher nominal-yield backdrop.
The Strait of Hormuz situation is best characterized as open transit with escalating attack risk. Three tankers were struck in or near the strait within 24 hours, including a Qatari LNG tanker that caught fire, while Iranian state media continued to assert that only Iran-approved routes are safe. The U.S. revoked a 60-day license allowing Iranian oil sales, adding a sanctions channel to the shipping risk. Oil reacted, but not as if the chokepoint were shut: Brent rose about 1.6% to $73.11 and WTI gained about 1.5% to $69.59 in Tuesday trade. The current impact on gold is mixed: the attacks add a residual geopolitical bid, but higher crude also raises inflation risk, keeps yields elevated and limits the benefit from safe-haven flows.
The key outside markets see Nymex WTI crude oil prices higher and trading around $69.59 a barrel, while Brent crude was near $73.11. The U.S. dollar index is firmer. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is trading near the 4.5% area.
Technically, spot gold bulls' next upside price objective is to push prices back above the $4,200.00 to $4,260.00 resistance zone, with a sustained move targeting $4,350.00 and then $4,500.00. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is a break below $4,091.00, with deeper downside targets at $4,000.00 and then $3,959.00. First resistance is seen at $4,200.00 and then at $4,260.00. First support is seen at $4,091.00 and then at $4,000.00.
Spot silver bulls' next upside price objective is to drive prices back above the $61.33 to $62.81 area, with a move above that zone targeting $64.00 and then $65.00. The next downside price objective for the bears is a break below $60.69, with deeper downside targets at $59.00 and then $58.00. First resistance is seen at $61.33 and then at $62.81. Next support is seen at $60.69 and then at $59.00.
