Gold, silver rates today: Comex gold and silver extend gains as US-Iran peace deal eases rate hike fears

Precious metals were trading sharply higher on Monday, 15 June, as expectations of interest-rate hikes eased after the US and Iran reached a deal to end hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Comex gold futures jumped $123 per troy ounce to the day's high of $4,391, building on a 3% gain recorded in Friday's session.

Silver futures rallied even more sharply, rising $3.4 per troy ounce to $71.4. In the previous session, the white metal had surged more than 6%, marking one of its strongest single-day advances in over a month.

Both metals, which have remained highly volatile since the start of the conflict, attracted safe-haven demand after the US and Iran agreed to end the Middle East conflict, which had unsettled global markets and pushed inflation rates in several economies to multi-year highs.

US President Donald Trump said late Sunday on social media that the deal with Iran was "now complete". Trump also announced that oil shipments from the Persian Gulf could soon resume, including the lifting of the US blockade on Iranian ports.

The Strait of Hormuz will be "opening" on Friday following the signing of the agreement with Iran, Trump said in a social media post. The agreement would then pave the way for 60 days of talks on Iran's nuclear programme.

The deal follows weeks of mixed messaging from both Washington and Tehran regarding the conflict's trajectory, even as a fragile ceasefire remained in place and diplomatic efforts continued.

This is not the first time that hopes of a peace agreement have emerged. Similar expectations have surfaced more than a dozen times in recent months, but none have materialised into a final deal.

Hopes for a potential de-escalation have fluctuated since the ceasefire announcement on 7 April, as disagreements over Iran's nuclear programme and control of the Strait of Hormuz prevented the two sides from reaching a final agreement.

Meanwhile, the nearly four-month conflict kept energy prices elevated, increasing the cost of living across major economies and prompting several central banks to raise interest rates.

The direction of gold and silver futures will now depend largely on the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's 16–17 June policy meeting, which will be Chair Kevin Warsh's first meeting at the helm. Investors will closely watch for signals on the future path of interest rates.

The Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged later this week. However, traders continue to price in at least one 25-basis-point rate hike by year-end, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

MCX gold, silver extend winning run

Tracking gains in the international market, the near-month gold futures contract on MCX jumped another ₹3,348 per 10 grams to the day's high of ₹1,53,876. With today's rally, the yellow metal has recovered ₹7,432 in three days.

Silver futures on MCX also rebounded ₹8,014 per kilogram, crossing the ₹2.54 lakh mark to reach ₹2,54,200. The rally pushed white metal to recover ₹23,700 in just three sessions, based on today's high.

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