Precious metals prices are down on potential for economic fallout from escalating US-Iran War.
Volatility has returned to the precious metals market this past week. All eyes are on the breakout of a full-scale war across the Middle East prompted by a coordinated assault on Iran by the United States and its ally Israel. Oil prices are up, which means inflation risks are once again on the minds of Federal Reserve board members as they contemplate upcoming interest rate decisions.
Let’s take a look at what’s got the precious metals moving over the past week.
Gold price
The price of gold is showing remarkable resilience in the face of strong volatility this past seven very eventful days. On Thursday (February 26), the yellow metal managed an intraday high of US$5,200 per ounce, well above the low of US$4,440 per ounce reached in the first few days of February following US President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh, a former Federal Reserve governor, to replace Jerome Powell as the next Fed chair.
Gold continued this upward trend on Friday (February 27) rising to an intraday high of US$5,270 per ounce. Over the weekend, tensions in the Middle East erupted into a full-scale war as the US and Israel launched a massive military campaign targeting multiple locations across Iran. Consequently, Iran quickly escalated the conflict into a large-scale regional war including missile strikes and drone attacks in Israel, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.
The events lit a fire of safe-haven demand for gold, pushing prices up over US$5,400 per ounce on Monday (March 2). However, the yellow metal just as quickly reversed course on profit-taking and dropped as low as US$5,263 per ounce before recovering to a close of US$5,328 per ounce.
By Tuesday (March 3), the precious metal had lost further ground, following slightly below the psychologically important US$5,000 mark during morning trading, before finishing the day at US$5,088 per ounce.
Gold was trading back up at US$5,195 per ounce early Wednesday morning, as investors sought to buy the dip–a sign that strong confidence remains in the long-term bullish outlook for the metal. Gold closed the day at US$5,145.24 per ounce as investors balance safe-haven demand with the potential for higher interest rates for longer.
Gold price chart, February 25, 2026 to March 4, 2026.
Here are the primary drivers for gold this past week:
- Geopolitical conflict in the Middle East remains the primary driver for safe-haven gold this week. Investors once again flocked to safe-haven gold, pushing the precious metal to near-record highs.
- Expected profit-taking brought a healthy correction to the gold market, which contributed to the sharp, short-term drop on Tuesday.
- Investor faith in gold’s long-term value brought on a buy-the-dip sentiment, giving the metal a strong level of support.
- Concerns that rising oil prices as a result of the US-Iran war will lead to increased inflation is likely to place pressure on the Federal Reserve to delay interest rate cuts until later in the year. This takes a bit of the wind out of the sails for gold prices.
- The likelihood of interest rates staying pat for longer strengthened the US Dollar and raised 10-year Treasury yields, both of which are also price negative for gold.
In other gold news, the World Gold Council reported that for the first time in more than a decade the Bank of Korea will begin investing in overseas-listed physical gold ETFs.
In gold mining sector news, SSR Mining (NASDAQ:SSRM,TSX:SSRM,OTCPL:SSRGF) has agreed to sell its majority stake in the Çöpler gold mine in Turkey for US$1.5 billion in cash.
Silver price
Silver has also experienced a volatile week of trading influenced by geopolitical tensions and concerns over the Fed’s next monetary policy moves.
Still well below its all-time high of more than US$120 per ounce it reached on January 29, 2026. The white metal traded at an intraday high of US$88.95 Thursday (February 26) before surging as high as US$94.14 per ounce the following day.
For Monday (March 2), silver continued higher to reach US$95.71 per ounce in early morning trading. Tracking gold’s decline, silver prices touched as low as US$86.61 that day before recovering to close at US$89.34 per ounce.
Tuesday’s (March 3) dip saw silver sink as low as US$79.734 per ounce in early morning trading before closing up at US$82.05 per ounce. Silver managed to hold on to those gains Wednesday (March 4) to close the trading day at US$83.56 per ounce
Silver price chart, February 25, 2026 to March 4, 2026.
As the world’s most electrically and thermally conductive metal, silver is still receiving strong support from industrial demand. The entrenched silver supply deficit also continues to provide a floor of support for the metal’s price.
In silver mining news, major silver producer Fresnillo (LSE:FRES,OTCPL:FNLPF), reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization of US$2.80-billion for the 12 months ended December 31, 2025, up more than 80 percent over the previous year. This allowed the company to payout a total of US$950-million, or 128.92 cents per share, to shareholders for 2025.
Platinum price
Platinum prices were trading well above the US$2,200 mark on Thursday (February 26), reaching as high as US$2287.50 per ounce. Friday brought further gains, with the precious metal pushing up past the US$2,400 per ounce level, although only slightly and very briefly.
However, by Monday (March 2) the price of platinum had slid as low as US$2,291.50 in the morning trade before finishing the day at a four-week high of US$2,325.70 per ounce.Tuesday (March 3) brought further volatility for platinum prices as they sank as low as US$2,015.70 as part of a broader liquidation event in the commodities markets. Yet, platinum managed to swing back slightly above the US$2,100 level by the end of the trading day.
Wednesday (March 4) saw platinum hanging on to those gains and moving upward to close at US$2,165.80 per ounce.
Platinum price chart, February 25, 2026 to March 4, 2026.
Platinum prices this week were supported by a March 3 report from the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) highlighting the fourth consecutive annual platinum market deficit with a 240,000 ounce shortfall expected in 2026. Although that is much lower than the 1.1 million ounce deficit recorded in 2025.
Demand is being driven by the metal’s essential role in the emerging hydrogen economy. The WPIC reports it sees support for platinum will come from a 7 percent rise in hydrogen stationary applications in 2026.
Palladium price
Palladium also succumbed to the downward trend for precious metals prices this past seven days. On Thursday (February 26), palladium retreated from the one-month highs above the US$1,900 level experienced last week to slip as low as US$1,770.50 per ounce in morning trading and struggled to finish the day close to US$1,800 per ounce. Friday found the metal back up to an intraday high of US$1,856.50 per ounce.
On Monday (March 2), palladium lost ground again, dipping to a low of US$1,781 per ounce before closing out the day at US$1,803 per ounce. However, the following day palladium’s price tracked its sister metals in a runaway slide that brought prices to a low of US$1,631 per ounce. By the end of the trading day it had only managed to claw back to US$1,672 per ounce.
After rebounding to US$1,730 per ounce in early morning trading Wednesday, palladium closed out the day at the US$1,700 level.
Palladium price chart, February 25, 2026 to March 4, 2026.
It seems investors are reassessing palladium’s value with a focus on broader economic risks to industrial demand brought about from potential shipping route closures in the Strait of Hormuz.
Market tightness persists due to output disruptions in South Africa and uncertainty over Russian exports, which provide a partial floor for prices.
Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.