AGE Daily Gold Update

AGE Daily Gold Update presents a recap on today's action in the precious metals markets. View archives.

3/13/2026: Gold slides for a second week

Source: Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin — New York spot gold fell 1.2% to close under $5,053 as Treasury yields and the dollar continued to climb on inflation concerns, rising oil prices, and the Iran war. Bullion slid 1.8% for the week, its second straight weekly decline. Silver dropped 4.4% to finish at $80.91 an ounce, notching a weekly loss of 3.5%.

The US stepped up its bombardment of Iran to unprecedented levels as the conflict hit the two-week mark. President Trump said the US will be hitting Iran "very hard over the next week" as he tries to force the new Ayatollah Khamenei to reopen the Straits of Hormuz to oil shipping.

Global benchmark Brent crude added another 0.6% to more than $101 per barrel as the Iran war has taken producers offline and interrupted global oil flow.

Meanwhile, US consumer sentiment fell to a three-month low as fears mount about the war's impact on gasoline prices. The nationwide average has risen nearly 60 cents, to more than $3.50 per gallon, since the bombing began.

Commerce Department data released today showed inflation was sticky even before the oil shock. The core PCE index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, rose 0.4% in January to an annualized 3.1%, up from 3% in January.

Against this backdrop, bond traders have all but priced out any rate cuts this year and are factoring in the possibility of a rate hike instead.

The dollar rose another 0.6% against major rivals, hitting a four-month high on global flights to safety and worries that energy-inflation will keep interest rates high. A stronger dollar pressures gold and other commodities by making them more expensive in other currencies.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields climbed toward 4.3% on the shifting inflation and interest rate outlook, pressuring gold by increasing the opportunity cost for holding it instead of bonds for safety.

While gold has experienced significant corrections over the past two weeks because of the sharply higher dollar, its fundamentals remain solid. Aggressive central banks continue adding gold to their currency reserves to offset dollar risk because of uncertainty about US trade, fiscal, and foreign policies. And geopolitical turmoil continues to drive retail investor demand.

Platinum lost 4.9% today and 4.6% this week. Palladium dropped 3.5% for a weekly decline of 3.9%.

At the New York spot close: gold fell $63.30 to $5,052.50; silver shed $3.76 to $80.91; platinum lost $1.05.50 to $2,046.55; and palladium declined by $56.40 to $1,577.85 an ounce.