AGE Daily Gold Update

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

5/12/2026: Gold slips on oil, CPI

Source: Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin — New York spot gold slipped 0.9% to close under $4,678, pressured by increases in Treasury yields and the dollar as fading ceasefire hopes and sharply higher consumer inflation clouded the outlook for lower interest rates from the Fed. Silver slid 0.4% to finish at $85.13 an ounce.

US benchmark WTI crude rose another 2.8% to nearly $103 per barrel following President Trump's declaration yesterday that peace talks with Iran are "on life support." With the Strait of Hormuz closed, the biggest global energy shock in more than a generation will continue to drive global inflation.

And domestic inflation is already climbing. Consumer prices jumped 0.6% to a 3-year high of 3.8% in April, fueled by sharply higher gasoline and energy costs. The core CPI, minus food and energy, rose 0.4% to 2.8%, a seven-month high.

Adding insult to injury, US electricity prices shot up a whopping 6.1% last month compared to a year earlier, accelerated by voracious demand from AI data centers.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields climbed back toward 4.5% on expectations that inflation will continue to rise. While gold is often utilized as a hedge against inflation, it is pressured by rising yields, which increase the opportunity costs for holding it instead of bonds.

Tracking with yields, the dollar added 0.4% against major rivals. A stronger dollar weighs on gold and other commodities by making them pricier in other currencies, limiting demand overseas.

Platinum and palladium dropped 0.6% and 1.6%, respectively.

At the New York spot close: gold eased $41.10 to $4,677.860; silver shed 36 cents to $85.13; platinum dropped 13.40 to $2,113.75; and palladium lost $24.40 to $1,489.75 an ounce.