Gold and silver have made small gains in a volatile precious metals week.
Gold prices rose on Friday as a result of soaring geopolitical tensions, and increased demand for safe havens.
Oil prices rose modestly on Friday after reports that Iran’s Foreign Minister indicated positive progress in the US-Iran talks.
The copper price also recovered its losses, and was 1% higher when this article was written. The red metal’s price fluctuated throughout the entire week, as it fell from the record highs reached the previous week.
The London Metal Exchange’s three-month contract for copper was $13,048 per tonne, an increase of 0.9% over the previous closing price.
A week of turmoil for silver and gold
Silver prices plummeted nearly 20% on Thursday. This erased all gains made since last week’s crash.
On Friday, it had dropped even further to $64 an ounce. This was its lowest price since the middle of December. Price has almost been halved since its previous record-breaking high, just a little over a fortnight ago.
On Thursday, gold also fell 4% to $4,760 an ounce. It continued its initial decline on Friday but didn’t reach the Monday low.
As of the writing of this article, COMEX gold was nearly 2% higher at $4,980.79 an ounce. Silver nearly recovered all losses, at $76.435 per ounce.
The price of gold rose in this past week due to the escalating tensions between Iran and the US, as well as the rising threat of a war.
Bloomberg reports that the two countries are engaged in diplomatic discussions in Muscat, Oman’s capital. According to Tehran, this is the first phase in a longer diplomatic process.
This meeting will focus on broad issues, with the goal of establishing a roadmap for future discussions. The Islamic Republic News Agency announced this early Friday.
Neil Welsh, Britannia Global Markets’ head of the metals markets, stated:
Gold’s own price retracement seems to have stabilized on renewed demand for safe-haven.
Petroleum gains
Oil prices rose by over 1% Friday after reports that Iran’s Foreign Minister said talks with the US were off to a good start.
The crude benchmarks West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent were headed for their first week-long declines — 3.4% and 2.2%, respectively — since mid-December, 2025.
Investors reduced their risk premium and took profits after a significant rally.
The US and Iranian officials met in Oman, Friday morning. This was in response to Washington’s deployment at least of two navy fleets into the Middle East.
According to local media, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Seyed Araghchi described the first discussions as “positive and a good start” with more talks expected.
The markets are cautiously optimistic about this dialogue between Tehran & Washington, in the hope that it can help to ease tensions & avert further conflict.
The traders have already reduced the premium for risk factored in crude oil prices this week.
Iran and the US had previously differed over the agenda of Friday’s discussions. The US wanted to discuss Iran’s arsenal of missiles, but Iran refused, saying that the talks would only be about its nuclear program.
Araghchi confirms that the talks were “exclusively” focused on nuclear issues.
If an agreement can be reached with Iran, which is a major producer of oil near the Strait of Hormuz, it could have a significant impact on the balance between supply and demand, possibly leading to accelerated production that exceeds consumption.
The initial price support of crude oil for the first week was due to the tighter supply anticipated, mainly because of extreme weather disruptions in the US, as well as outages and conflict concerns from the Middle East.
The price drop this week was largely due to a strengthening dollar, as well as a general commodity slump.
WTI crude oil was priced at $64.32 a barrel, an increase of 1.6%. Brent crude, at $68.68, was up by 1.7%.
The post This Post Commodity Wrap: Gold and Silver End Volatile Week with Small Gains; Oil Rises may be Modified as Updates unfold
