Gold slips 0.6% as Hormuz attack keeps crude above $90

Spot gold fell 0.58% to $4,390.40 an ounce Tuesday as oil-risk premium and long-end Treasury yields offset fading September Fed rate-hike odds.

The 10-year Treasury yield traded near 4.74%, while the 30-year yield reached the 5.2% to 5.3% area, its highest level since 2007, according to market data. Nohshad Shah, head of EMEA fixed-income sales at Citadel Securities, said inflation has "little to no breathing room" in a supply-shock environment.

Brent crude traded near $91 a barrel and WTI near $85 after a cargo ship was struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz off Oman, damaging its engine room and causing a crew casualty. The 60-day U.S.-Iran negotiation window expired Aug. 17 without progress, and Iran continues to insist the strait will remain closed until sanctions are addressed. Kpler data showed only three vessels transited the strait Sunday, versus 31 the previous weekend.

For gold, the setup remains two-sided: shipping-risk headlines support defensive demand, while higher crude and rising long yields limit the rate-relief bid. The next data points are July housing starts at 8:30 a.m. ET, the Fed's July meeting minutes Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET, and flash PMI readings Friday at 9:45 a.m. ET.

Technical Levels Point to $4,448 Resistance

Spot gold bulls' next upside objective is to push prices back above the $4,448.00 resistance level, with a sustained move targeting $4,518.00 and then $4,596.00. Bears' next near-term downside objective is a break below $4,333.00, with deeper targets at $4,262.00 and then $4,205.00. First support sits at $4,333.00.

Spot silver traded at $64.89, down 1.17%. Silver bulls target a move back above $66.78, with $68.24 and then $69.63 beyond, while bears seek a break below $65.00, targeting $63.57 and then $62.20.

Energy Shock Weighs on Rate-Relief Bid

The market-implied probability of a September Fed rate hike fell to about 30% to 35% after last week's soft retail-sales, CPI, PPI and consumer-sentiment sequence, but long-end yields are rising as traders reprice oil-driven inflation and fiscal-risk premium. U.S. diesel crack spreads broke above $100 a barrel intraday for the first time, while the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell about 5.3 million barrels to 293.4 million barrels, the lowest since December 1982.

Global equities were weaker ahead of the U.S. open, with Japan's Nikkei 225 down 2.5% and South Korea's Kospi off 1.6%. France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX each fell 0.5%.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.