Gold prices fell on Tuesday even as the dollar fell against most major rivals, with investors shunning safe havens amid optimism about the Israel-Iran ceasefire. 

Fed Chair Jerome Powell testified ahead of Congress that the Federal Reserve isn’t in a hurry to cut interest rates.

Trump continued his attacks against Powell and said he hoped Congress would take “this stubborn and stupid person” into account, adding that America will pay the price of “his stupidity” for many years to come. 

Trump said there’s inflation in the US and the economy is doing great, and asked once more for interest rates to be down by two or three percentage points, which would save the government $800 billion a year.

Earlier data showed the Conference Board’s consumer sentiment survey in the US down 5.4 points to 93 points in June, while analysts expected 99.4.

Otherwise, the dollar index fell 0.6% as of 20:21 GMT to 97.8, with a session-high at 98.2, and a low at 97.7.

Gold spot prices fell 1.9% as of 20:22 GMT to $3332.3 an ounce. 

US stock indices rose on Tuesday as Middle East tensions calmed down, hurting oil prices and boosted air travel shares.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell testified ahead of Congress that the Federal Reserve isn’t in a hurry to cut interest rates.

Trump continued his attacks against Powell and said he hoped Congress would take “this stubborn and stupid person” into account, adding that America will pay the price of “his stupidity” for many years to come.

Trump said there’s inflation in the US and the economy is doing great, and asked once more for interest rates to be down by two or three percentage points, which would save the government $800 billion a year.

On trading, Dow Jones rose 0.9%, or 377 points to 42,959 points, while S&P 500 rallied 0.8%, or 51 points to 6076 points, as NASDAQ added 1.2%, or 240 points to 19,872.

Bitcoin rose on Tuesday as the risk appetite improved following US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire announcement between Israel and Iran.

Both countries agreed to the ceasefire, although violation accusations soon crept up.

Bitcoin rose 3.2% as of 01:24 GMT to $104,042, but still moved within a tight June range.

Most cryptocurrencies were boosted by the ceasefire announcement, with risk appetite rebounding once more.

Trump announced the full ceasefire, ending a 12-day conflict that led to the displacement of millions of people from Tehran.

Israel agreed to the US proposal, noting it has achieved its goal of destroying Iranian nuclear and missile targets.

US Law Proposal To Ban Official Crypto Investments

Democratic senators proposed a bill that would ban official governments, including US President Donald Trump from investing in cryptocurrencies.

The bill aims at preventing conflict of interest, but it’ll likely be defeated at the Republican-dominated Senate. 

Trump has been a strong crypto supporter since taking office, but has faced criticism about potential personal benefits for his wealth due to his crypto investments. 

Miners’ Strategic Reserves 

Data from CryptoQuant showed the Miners’ bitcoin reserves slipped last week, in a sign of covering losses or rising operational costs.

The Miners’ Position Index surged 55% in the past three days, showing increasing movements in the miners’ wallets, likely outward flows, which shows mounting selling pressures in the market. 

Oil prices extended their heavy losses on Tuesday and plumbed two-week lows after Israel’s approval of US President Trump’s ceasefire proposal with Iran, reducing concerns about Middle East supply disruptions. 

As of 09:27 GMT, Brent futures slid 3.5% to $69 a barrel, while US West Texas fell 3.5% to $66.14 a barrel.

The losses reached 5% at the opening following Trump’s ceasefire announcement before tapering off.

Israel’s PM Netanyahu said he agreed on Trump’s ceasefire proposal after achieving its goal of removing Iran’s nuclear and ballistic threats.

However, doubts remain about the effectiveness of the ceasefire, after Israel announced yet another strike against Iran following an alleged Iranian missile attack, which Iran denied. 

Severe Volatility 

The 12-day conflict led to severe fluctuations in oil prices, with Brent moving within a $10 range on Monday, the widest since July 2022.

Both major contracts closed down 7% yesterday away from five-month highs as the conflict seemed to be settling down.

Trump seems keen on ending the conflict as soon as possible so that the US is not dragged to an endless war, a sentiment which is shared with Iran.