Gold prices bounce off 3-week lows; demand likely longer term
Investing.com - Canada’s main stock index closed lower on Friday, as investor sentiment was dented by a fresh escalation in violence in the Middle East.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite closed down 0.43%, losing 111.14 points at 26,504.35 points, retreating from its record high logged Thursday.
Israel launched what it called a "preemptive" large‑scale airstrike on Iran early Friday, hitting “dozens” of military and nuclear targets, while a state of emergency was declared across Israel amid warnings of an imminent missile and drone counter‑strike from Tehran.
Iran’s state media also reported that there were unconfirmed reports saying that Israel has killed Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Commander Hossein Salami.
Iran pledged a “harsh” retaliation against both Israel and the United States, while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Israel carried out its military action against Iran independently, citing self-defense as the driving motive behind the strikes.
The White House had warned it would consider military measures should nuclear negotiations fail, with a key response deadline ending Thursday.
U.S. stock ends sharply lower
U.S. stock ended lower as Israel carried out the large‑scale airstrike on Iran.
At closing Dow Jones Industrial Averagefell 659.45 points, or 1.52%, S&P 500 lost 67.65 points, or 1.12%, to 5,977.93 and theNASDAQ Composite lost 255 points, or 1.30%, to 19,406.83 .
Crude surges
Oil prices surged on Friday in the wake of Israel’s airstrike on Iran.
At 4.10 ET, Brent futures climbed 7.43% to $74.81 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 8.17% to $73.19 a barrel.
These contracts had earlier seen the largest intraday moves for both contracts since 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine, with both climbing to their highest levels since late January, as traders worried that any conflict could disrupt shipping routes or oil infrastructure across the Gulf.
Gold jumps
Meanwhile, gold prices also rose sharply, as safe haven demand was boosted by the Israeli strikes on Iran.
Trump’s recent comments on trade tariffs elicited a risk-averse reaction as well. Trump has said that he will send letters outlining his tariff plans to major economies within the next two weeks, leaving the fate of individual trade deals with a host of countries unclear despite an extension to his so-called "reciprocal" duties being set to expire in July.
Bullion prices were already sitting on some gains this week amid increased uncertainty over U.S.-China trade talks. While the negotiations appeared to yield some progress, analysts flagged a relative lack of details around the outcome of the discussions
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