Gold tests $4,500 as oil rebounds on Iran risk – Kitco AM Report

Gold tests $4,500 as oil rebounds on Iran risk - Kitco AM Report teaser image

SPOT MARKET IS OPEN
(WILL CLOSE IN 4 HRS. 28 MINS. )
May 21, 2026 12:34 PM NY Time

Live Spot Gold

Bid/Ask

4,516.404,518.40

Low/High

4,489.304,571.30

Change

-26.70-0.59%

30daychg

-242.10-5.09%

1yearchg

+1,182.60+35.47%

Silver Price & PGMs

May 21, 2026 12:34 PM NY Time

Kitco Morning Fix

Silver75.85+0.11
Platinum1,954.00+4.00
Palladium1,362.00+8.00
Rhodium9,150.00-175.00

(Kitco NewsWire, Thurs. May 21st, 2026) – Spot gold and silver prices are lower in early U.S. trading Thursday, as oil rebounded on renewed U.S.-Iran friction and Treasury yields held near the 4.6% area. At the time of writing, spot gold was trading near $4,512.90 an ounce, down 0.69%, while spot silver was trading near $75.065, down 1.06% on the session.

Weekly jobless claims fell by 3,000 to 209,000 for the week ended May 16, below the 213,000 consensus, while the four-week average slipped by 1,500 to 202,500. Continuing claims rose by 6,000 to 1.78 million for the week ended May 9. April housing starts fell 2.8% to a 1.465 million seasonally adjusted annual rate, while building permits rose 5.8% to 1.442 million. The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index fell to -0.4 in May from 26.7 in April, cutting against the firmer housing-permits signal and leaving the macro read mixed: labor remains resilient, housing construction softened at the start stage and regional factory momentum stalled.

U.S. equity futures were lower before the open as oil and yields moved higher. S&P 500 futures fell 0.2%, Dow futures lost 0.2% and Nasdaq futures declined 0.4%, with Nvidia’s stronger earnings not enough to offset the oil and rates move. In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi surged 8.4% and Japan’s Nikkei gained 3.1%, while Chinese markets weakened. European stocks were softer in early trade as energy risk and higher yields offset Wednesday’s rebound.

Traders are watching the S&P Global U.S. flash PMI at 9:45 a.m. ET, along with any update on U.S.-Iran negotiations and Hormuz shipping flows.

The key outside markets see Nymex WTI crude oil prices higher and trading around $100.50 a barrel, while Brent crude was near $106.90. The U.S. dollar index is firmer. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is trading near the 4.6% area.

Spot silver bulls’ next upside price objective is to drive prices back above the $75.77 to $76.00 area, with a move above that zone targeting $76.50 and then $77.75. The next downside price objective for the bears is a break below $74.68, with deeper downside targets at $74.47 and then $73.90. First resistance is seen at $75.77 and then at $76.00. Next support is seen at $74.68 and then at $74.47.

Posted by:

Jack Dempsey, President

401 Gold Consultants LLC

jdemp2003@gmail.com