Gold fell to a more than one-week low on Friday, as U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar climbed, while heightening inflation concerns due to the conflict in the Middle East reinforced bets for higher interest rates.

Spot gold was down 2.6% at $4,527.80 per ounce by 9:40 a.m. EDT (1340 GMT), its lowest since ‌May 5. Prices ⁠were ⁠down 4% so far this week.

U.S. gold futures for June delivery lost 3.2% to $4,535.

“There was a sell-off across the (precious metals) for a couple of reasons. The dollar is quite strong today. We’re also seeing not just a U.S. increase, but a global increase in (bond) yield rates,” said Edward Meir, an analyst at Marex.

Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields rose to a near ⁠one-year high, ‌increasing non-yielding bullion’s opportunity cost. The dollar was set for its highest weekly gain in two months, making greenback-priced gold more ⁠expensive for overseas buyers. [US/][USD/]

U.S. President Donald Trump said his patience with Iran was running out and left China with no major breakthroughs on trade or tangible help to end the war.
“The Chinese really didn’t offer much help in resolving the conflict, and we’re seeing crude oil move up, which reinforces the inflation narrative and that’s been very bearish for the metals,” he added. Crude oil prices have ‌risen more than 40% since the U.S.-Israel war on Iran began, leading to higher inflation globally. Central banks tend to hike interest rates during times ⁠of inflation, which in turn tends to dim non-yielding bullion’s appeal. [O/R]

Traders have largely priced out U.S. interest rate cuts this year while bets for a hike have risen, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool. [FEDWATCH]

Spot silver fell 8.7% to $76.26 per ounce, platinum lost 4.1% to $1,967.35, and palladium was down 1.9% at $1,409.75. All three were headed for weekly losses.

Silver fell as much as 9% earlier and was on track for its worst daily performance since March 3.

Oil prices flared up as much as 8% this week, ending Friday’s session over 3% higher after remarks from U.S. President Donald Trump and Iran’s foreign minister weakened hopes of a near-term agreement to end ship attacks and seizures around the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday that Tehran has “no trust” in the United States and would engage in negotiations only if Washington showed seriousness. He added that Iran remains ready both for renewed conflict and for diplomatic solutions.

Crude oil price this week

Brent crude futures settled at $109.26 a barrel, rising $3.54 or 3.35%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $105.42 a barrel, up $4.25 or 4.2%. For the week, Brent advanced 7.84%, and WTI gained 10.48%, as uncertainty surrounding the fragile ceasefire in the Iran war continued to keep markets on edge.

Trump, meanwhile, said he was losing patience with Iran and had agreed with Chinese President Xi Jinping that Iran cannot be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and must reopen the Strait. Nearly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which serves as the main export route for Gulf producers including Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Qatar.

The rhetoric between Washington and Tehran turned increasingly confrontational once again. Although the ceasefire remains in place, expectations of a quick reopening of the Strait of Hormuz have diminished sharply.

Trump also concluded his visit to China. While Chinese President Xi Jinping did not publicly comment on discussions with Trump regarding Iran, China’s foreign ministry issued a statement saying, “This conflict, which should never have happened, has no reason to continue.”
Among the outcomes the market had been watching for from the U.S.-China summit, Trump said China agreed that Iran can’t possess a nuclear weapon. Tensions also flared between the two when Xi said the US and China’s relation could be in great jeopardy if the Taiwan issue wasn’t resolved.

Where are prices headed?

Analysts at Morgan Stanley said the global oil market is now in “a race against time,” warning that the factors limiting a sharper rise in crude prices may weaken if the Strait of Hormuz stays shut into June.

Despite disruptions impacting nearly 1 billion barrels of oil supply, crude prices are still below the highs reached in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Analysts led by Martijn Rats said the market entered the current crisis with stronger supply buffers, while investors largely continue to believe the strait will eventually reopen.

Morgan Stanley added that higher U.S. crude exports and softer Chinese imports have so far helped shield the market from a deeper supply shock. However, the brokerage warned that a prolonged closure of Hormuz could once again tighten global supplies if disruptions continue beyond what either China or the United States can manage comfortably.

Haitong Futures said markets remain cautious and warned the ceasefire may only be temporary. The brokerage added that stalled negotiations between Washington and Tehran could trigger another escalation, pushing oil prices even higher.

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said Monday that disruptions to shipments through Hormuz could delay the return of stability to oil markets until 2027, potentially affecting around 100 million barrels of oil supply every week.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Follow

Play Earnings CallPlay Earnings Call

SAP SE (SAP) Shareholder/Analyst Call May 13, 2026 11:00 AM EDT

Company Participants

Alexandra Kasper Steiger – Global Head of Investor Relations
Christian Klein – CEO & Member of Executive Board
Muhammad Alam – Lead product engineering & Member of Executive Board
Thomas Saueressig – Member of Executive Board
Malin Persson
Gina Vargiu-Breuer – Chief People Officer, Labor Director & Member of Executive Board
Sebastian Steinhaeuser – Chief Strategy Officer & COO and Member of Executive Board
Dominik Asam – CFO & Member of Executive Board

Advertisement

Conference Call Participants

Adam Wood – Morgan Stanley, Research Division
Toby Ogg – JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division
Jackson Ader – KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., Research Division
Charles Brennan – Jefferies LLC, Research Division
Ben Castillo-Bernaus – BNP Paribas, Research Division
Johannes Schaller – Deutsche Bank AG, Research Division
Mohammed Moawalla – Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Research Division
Michael Briest – UBS Investment Bank, Research Division
Frederic Boulan – BofA Securities, Research Division

Presentation

Advertisement

Operator

Good morning. At this time, we would kindly ask that you please take your seats and silence all devices as our program is about to begin. Thank you. Please welcome to the stage SAP Global Head of Investor Relations, Alexandra Steiger.

Alexandra Kasper Steiger
Global Head of Investor Relations

Advertisement

That was a little too fast. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us at our annual financial conference. We hope you’re enjoying Sapphire so far and had a chance to walk the floor and explore all the exciting innovation here on display in Orlando. A warm welcome as well to those joining us virtually from around the world.

Today’s agenda offers a great chance to hear directly from our executive team, take a closer look at some of the key developments across our product portfolio and see how our technology and strategy are coming together here at SAP. As AI continues to

Advertisement

Europe’s STOXX 600slid and logged weekly losses on Friday as concerns over energy-induced inflation pressures due to the U.S.-Iran standoff rattled global markets.

The pan-European benchmark closed down 1.5% at 606.92 points, snapping two straight days of gains. Germany’s DAX declined the most among regional bourses, down 2.1% on ‌Friday.

Positive corporate earnings ⁠and ⁠a rally in semiconductor shares aided gains this week, but were overshadowed by cost-of-living worries as energy prices stay elevated.

Europe’s materials index led declines, dropping 5.1% tracking weaker metal prices, while the defence sector fell 3.6%, the worst weekly performance among individual sectors.

Semiconductor firms paused their recent rally, with ASML , and Aixtron down 4.4% and 6%, respectively.

U.S. President Donald Trump finished his two-day meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping, which yielded little headway with regard to reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Trump ⁠also said his patience ‌with Iran was running out.
“Energy prices are pretty much the biggest problem facing Europe and ultimately, there doesn’t appear to be any political will to address that ⁠and markets are pricing that,” said Michael Hewson, senior market analyst at iForex. Inflation data out of several European countries and the U.S. this week showed that the jump in energy costs have started reflecting in consumer and producer prices, prompting investors to price in at least two rate hikes by the end of the year by the European Central Bank. Reflecting this, bond markets also witnessed a selloff.

“Markets which are more reliant on foreign energy imports and manufacturing heavy, which is energy intensive, feel the pain a ‌bit more,” said Daniel von Ahlen, senior macro strategist at GlobalData TS Lombard.

Economically sensitive cyclical sectors also came under pressure, with banks dropping 6% as BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank lost 3% and 2.6%, respectively.

Meanwhile ⁠political uncertainty was rife in the UK as Prime Minister Keir Starmer struggled to hold on to power after his main rival signalled a challenge to his leadership. The blue-chip FTSE 100 ended down 1.7%, while the more domestically-focused mid-cap index lost 1%.

Among others, LVMH dipped 1.1% after the conglomerate agreed to sell fashion brand Marc Jacobs.

Stellantis fell 4.2% after the carmaker signed a roughly 1-billion-euro ($1.16 billion) deal with China’s Dongfeng to produce Peugeot- and Jeep-branded vehicles.

Bucking the trend, Technoprobe soared 32.3% after the Italian semiconductor firmupgraded its 2026 outlook.

This article was written by