Gold prices fell on Tuesday as the dollar muscled up against most major rivals amid ongoing Middle Eastern tensions, and before the Fed’s policy decisions. 

Recent data showed US retail sales fell 0.9% m/m to $715.4 billion in May, while analysts expected a 0.6% drop, as auto sales drop following Trump’s tariffs. 

Later today, the Federal Reserve will convene and discuss policies, and will announce its decision tomorrow, widely expected to hold interest rates unchanged at below 4.5%. 

Markets were concerned after US President Trump urged Iranians to evacuate Tehran on Tuesday, coinciding with his early leave from the G7 meeting in Canada. 

Otherwise, the dollar index rose 0.8% as of 19:49 GMT to 98.8, with a session-high at 98.8, and a low at 98.02.

On trading, gold spot prices fell 0.3% as of 19:53 GMT to $3404 an ounce. 

US stock indices fell on Tuesday following weak data while investors assess the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict.

Recent data showed US retail sales fell 0.9% m/m to $715.4 billion in May, while analysts expected a 0.6% drop, as auto sales drop following Trump’s tariffs. 

Later today, the Federal Reserve will convene and discuss policies, and will announce its decision tomorrow, widely expected to hold interest rates unchanged at below 4.5%. 

Markets were a bit concerned after US President Trump urged Iranians to evacuate Tehran on Tuesday, coinciding with his early leave from the G7 meeting in Canada. 

On trading, Dow Jones fell 0.1% as of 16:08 GMT, or 29 points to 42,485 points, while S&P 500 fell 0.2%, or 15 points to 6018 points, as NASDAQ shed 0.3%, or 63 points to 19,637 points. 

Copper prices fell on Tuesday as tensions escalated in the Middle East, raising concerns about global growth and demand on industrial metals, while a stronger dollar weighed further on prices.

Copper three-month futures at the London Metals Exchange fell 0.1% to $9697 a ton.

Global markets edged lower while oil prices rose as the Iran-Israel fighting entered its fifth day, raising concerns about a wider regional conflict. 

The dollar also gained ground today, making the greenback-denominated commodity futures costlier to holders of other currencies. 

Future Outlook

In a memo, Citibank expects copper prices to drop to $8800 a ton in the third quarter of the year if the US imposed tariffs on copper imports.

US President Donald Trump ordered an investigation into the possibility of imposing tariffs on copper imports in February.

Currently, copper COMEX futures are trading at $4.806 a pound, raising its price premium over London contracts to $898 a ton.

As for Other Metals: 

Aluminum rose 0.4% to $2522 a ton

Zinc fell 0.5% to $2643 a ton

Nickel shed 0.1% to $15,055 a ton

Tin lost 0.6% to $32,385 a ton

Lead slipped 1.2% to $1983 a ton

Otherwise, the dollar index rose 0.5% as of 15:35 GMT to 98.4, with a session-high at 98.4, and a low at 98.02.

On trading, copper September futures fell 1% as of 15:31 GMT to $4.84 a pound in American trade.

Bitcoin edged up on Tuesday and expanded the gains on reports that Iran is seeking a ceasefire with Israel.

But the gains remain limited amid the lack of real signals that the Middle Eastern conflict is slowing down, while traders shun risks before the Fed’s meeting this week.

Investors remain concerned after US President Trump warned Iranians to evacuate Tehran in a threatening message, possibly indicating future US intervention in the war. 

Crypto Markets Shrug off BOJ

The crypto market didn’t react to the Bank of Japan’s decision to maintain rates unchanged and start the gradual process of reducing government bond purchases by next year. 

Bitcoin’s Performance Through the Crisis

Bitcoin edged up 0.5% to $107,066, but remained in a tight range that trapped the price throughout June.

Reports indicated that US and Iranian officials are considering talks to reach a ceasefire, but Iran dismissed such reports.

Trump Media Seeks Launch of Crypto ETFs

The Trump Media & Technology Group sent a request to the SEC to launch new bitcoin and ethereum ETFs according to a new filing. 

This is the second such request of the Trump group, and will join a jam packed market for such ETFs in the US in recent months. 

Otherwise, recent Faraside Investors data showed investments into bitcoin ETFs surged to $408.6 million on Monday, the second highest this month.

Still, a survey by Myriad showed that 77% of participants don’t expect bitcoin to close above $107,000 today.

Technically, some analysts are still expecting a downward correction potentially below $100,000 as bulls potentially lose steam due technical resistance.

RSI indicators are showing volatility near the 50 neutral levels.

MACD is outright negative and likely supports a downward scenario.

However, the price could surprise us with resilience and surged towards the coveted $112,000 record high once more