Right now the price of gold sits around $5,100 an ounce, which is double where it sat just over one year ago. And the war in Iran could propel the price upwards even further.

March 13 (Reuters) - Gold was on track for a second straight weekly loss, even as it edged higher on Friday, as surging oil prices dampened rate cut bets and caused investors to cover margin calls, while a rising dollar and U.S. yields also pressured prices.

We all know the relationship between Gold and US Dollars in the financial markets. When the USD rises, gold tends to fall and vice versa. It sounds simple to you, right? But understanding why this happens, and how to actually trade it like a pro trader, takes more than knowing that the pattern exists.

At the start of the year, there was plenty of excitement around silver. The precious metal was soaring and reaching record highs along the way. However, it has declined from the highs it reached in January.

Gold surged during the 12-day war with Iran last year and then gave up its gains when a ceasefire was announced. But, two weeks into the latest conflict, its price remains largely unmoved.

(Kitco Commentary) - Gold slipped on Thursday as a record coordinated oil reserve release from the International Energy Agency introduced a note of policy resolve into markets that had been pricing in unmitigated supply chaos.

Silver price (XAG/USD) claws back a majority of its early losses and recovers to near its opening price around $84.00 during the European trading session on Monday.

On March 10, data from the General Administration of Customs showed that China’s cumulative steel exports in January-February 2026 reached 15.591 million mt, down 8.1% YoY, with February steel exports at 7.837 million mt. China’s cumulative steel imports in January-February 2026 were 827,000 mt, down 21.7% YoY. China’s Steel Exports Declined YoY in January-February Against last year’s high base, China’s cumulative steel exports in January-February fell 8.1% YoY, but still remained at a relatively high level for the same period in previous years. The YoY decline in total exports in January-February was attributable, on the one hand, to policy impacts. At the end of 2025, the Ministry of Commerce announced that the export licensing system would take effect on January 1, 2026. As it basically covered all steel export categories, policy uncertainty made some export traders more cautious in taking orders. On the other hand, the appreciation of the yuan weakened the price advantage of exports, which also affected order-taking. In February, despite fewer calendar days, the MoM figure still increased. The reason was that some steel mills engaged in compliant exports actively pursued export orders to ease pressure from domestic sales while traders stayed on the sidelines. Meanwhile, in the early stage of export license implementation, both customs and exporters needed to spend more time adapting to policy changes. As time passed, overall work efficiency improved, and port cargo pick-up also accelerated accordingly. China’s Steel Imports Remained at a Low Level in January-February On the import side, China’s cumulative steel imports in January-February were 827,000 mt, down 21.7% YoY; net steel exports reached 14.764 million mt, down 7.3% YoY. Short-Term Outlook for Steel Exports According to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, the global manufacturing PMI stood at 51.2% in February 2026, up 0.2 percentage points MoM, remaining above 50 for two consecutive months. Asia, Europe, and the Americas all posted MoM increases and all stayed above the threshold, indicating signs of improving recovery in global manufacturing. However, affected by the long Chinese New Year holiday in China, the new export orders index of China’s manufacturing PMI was 45% in February, down 2.8 percentage points MoM. At the same time, geopolitical risks in the Middle East have surged recently, bringing uncertainty to the just-improving global economic recovery. According to monitoring data from the World Steel Association, global crude steel production totaled 147.3 million mt in January 2026, down 6.5% YoY, mainly dragged down by the sharp contraction in China’s production, which fell to 75.3 million mt in the single month, with a YoY decline as high as 13.9%. However, excluding the Chinese market, the rest of the world actually achieved about 3.6% growth against the trend in January, showing localized resilience amid divergence. The continued recovery of global crude steel capacity has brought some suppression to China’s steel exports. As of March 6, 2026, export offers for HRC (FOB) from India, Turkey, and the CIS were $500/mt, $566/mt, and $460/mt, respectively, while China’s HRC export offer (FOB) was $472/mt. At present, China’s HRC export offer was respectively -$28/mt, -$94/mt, and +$12/mt versus those countries. Overall, China’s steel exports still had an absolute price advantage. Figure 1 - HRC Export Offers in Major Global Markets Source: SMM According to SMM’s latest steel mill export scheduling data, the planned HRC export volume for this month was 819,000 mt, down 125,000 mt from last month’s actual exports, with a MoM decline of 13.2%, mainly because major northern mills planned to adjust their export product mix. According to SMM steel export order-taking data, as the impact of export licenses gradually faded, export order-taking gradually recovered in mid-to-late January. Meanwhile, with the long Chinese New Year holiday approaching, most export traders brought sales forward, so overall export order-taking maintained relatively high MoM growth. However, due to shipping disruptions caused by the escalation of the US-Iran conflict, earlier orders would face certain difficulties in shipment. Taking all factors into account, with the support of more calendar days in March, SMM expected a mild MoM rebound in overall export volume, though product divergence remained evident. Subsequent changes in total export volume would likely depend on judgment over the US-Iran conflict. If the conflict ends quickly, the overall impact will be relatively limited. Some domestic export traders have even taken on some semi-finished products orders lost from the Middle East due to the conflict, and Middle East demand has only been delayed rather than disappeared, with expectations of a demand surge after the conflict ends. But if the conflict turns into a protracted war, previously expected Middle East demand may face the risk of reassessment, while uncertainties such as ocean freight rates would also cause part of the demand to turn cautious. Figure 2 - SMM Steel Export Order Intake Source: SMM Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data is processed by SMM based on public information, market communication, and SMM’s internal database models, and is for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice. Note: This article is an original article of this official account. For any reposting, whitelist, or cooperation needs, please contact us. Without permission, it may not be reproduced, modified, used, sold, transferred, displayed, translated, compiled, disseminated, or otherwise disclosed to third parties, nor may any third party be authorized to use it. Otherwise, once discovered, SMM will pursue legal liability for infringement, including but not limited to claims for breach of contract, recovery of unjust enrichment, and compensation for direct and indirect economic losses. Scan the Code to Get Information for Free

Silver is having one of its most extraordinary years in modern market history.

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - Gold's appeal as it draws support from the widening conflict in the Middle East is expected to ​remain intact even if some investors have favoured the dollar as their preferred safe haven, traders and analysts said.