Gold Tumbles As U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Is In Jeopardy Amid Fresh Standoff

(RTTNews) - Shedding the gains from the previous session, gold prices have slumped on Monday after the U.S. seizure of an Iranian-flagged ship across the Strait of Hormuz renewed crude oil supply disruption concerns.

Front Month Comex Gold for June month delivery has tumbled by $49.50 (or 1.01%) to $4,830.10 per troy ounce.

Front Month Comex Silver for June month delivery has slumped sharply by $1.802 (or 2.19%) to $80.335 per troy ounce.

The gulf crisis took a new turn after U.S. President Donald Trump announced yesterday that U.S. forces have seized an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel that attempted to get around the U.S. naval blockade area across the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump stated that a U.S. Navy-guided missile destroyer stopped the ship, (named Touska) by blowing a hole in its engine room and that U.S. Marines have taken custody of the vessel.

Trump added that the ship ignored "fair warnings to halt" while departing Hormuz.

Iran accused the U.S. of violating the "two-week ceasefire" announced earlier in April by Trump himself, which is set to lapse on April 22.

Iran called the move, an act of "maritime piracy" since the U.S. forces attacked and boarded its ship. Warning of severe retaliation, Iran reasserted its control over the strait.

While Trump still optimistically stated that an opportunity for yet another round of talks does exist, Iran disagreed.

In an interview with the New York Post, Trump confirmed that a U.S. delegation, led by Vice President JD Vance, Special Envoy Steven Witkoff, and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner were heading to Pakistan to restart the peace talks.

The first round was deemed as "a failure" by Trump last week.

Dismissing concerns of a possible failure again, Trump stated that he assumed "nobody played games." Trump even added that he was willing to meet the Iranian delegation if required.

According to an ABC News report, Trump had stated that the U.S. offer is fair and reasonable and threatened large-scale attacks on Iran's bridges and power plants if they fail to reach an agreement with the U.S.

However, uncertainty persists about Iran's participation in the second-round of negotiations. Contradicting Trump's claims, Iran's state media reported that Iran has no plans to be involved in new talks with the U.S.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated yesterday that the actions of U.S. forces only signal that the U.S. is exhibiting the lack of seriousness required for diplomacy and criticized the U.S. of placing "excessive demands".

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian stated today that "war benefits no one" and diplomacy should be used to "reduce tensions."

Reuters reported that Iran was positively reviewing its participation though no final decision has been made as of now.

With the current ceasefire under test and the upcoming peace talks doubtful, oil prices surged today, renewing inflationary pressures once again, weighing down on gold prices.

Gold buying shrinks when inflationary concerns tend to keep interest rates higher.