By Giulia Petroni and Adam Whittaker
Gold futures fell after President Trump said he believed a ceasefire deal with Iran was over, prompting a surge in oil prices that revived concerns over inflationary pressure and interest-rate hikes.
In midmorning European trade, New York gold futures fell 2.2% to $4,066.50 a troy ounce. In London, shares in precious-metal miners slid, with gold and silver miners Fresnillo, Hochschild Mining and Endeavour Mining all down more than 4%.
Diversified mining stocks also dropped as investors reacted to weaker bullion prices and a broader deterioration in sentiment. Anglo American and the London-listed shares of BHP and Rio Tinto fell more than 3%. Copper miner Antofagasta dropped around 4.5%, while platinum miner Valterra Platinum was nearly 8% lower.
Trump's remarks came after the U.S. and Iran exchanged a series of strikes and Washington revoked a waiver allowing Tehran to sell oil, marking the sharpest escalation since the two sides signed an interim peace deal in mid-June. On Tuesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired missiles and drones at ships near the Strait of Hormuz, eroding confidence in the waterway's reopening and fueling concerns over renewed supply disruptions.
