PRECIOUS-Gold ticks down as Trump's Iran deadline keeps markets cautious

By Pablo Sinha

April 7 (Reuters) - Gold ticked down on Tuesday as investors stayed cautious ahead of a deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Spot gold XAU= edged 0.2% lower to $4,638.30 per ounce by 0539 GMT, while U.S. gold futures GCcv1 for June delivery fell 0.4% to $4,664.

"Everyone is in a mode where we're waiting for whatever the outcome is of this diatribe that the president has been on for the past several days," said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive, a financial derivatives trading platform.

Iran and Israel traded attacks as Tehran defiantly refused to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and accept a ceasefire deal on the eve of Trump's deadline to agree to his demands or get "taken out."

Oil prices extended gains, holding above $110 a barrel as Trump raised his rhetoric against Iran. O/R

The surge in oil prices has fuelled inflation concerns. While gold typically benefits during periods of inflationary pressure, higher interest rates reduce its appeal as a non‑yielding asset.

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack and Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee both see inflation as a far bigger problem than employment, underscoring their support for maintaining tighter monetary policy.

Investors now await minutes of the Fed's March policy meeting on Wednesday, as well as U.S. inflation indicators, including the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) data later this week.

"Last year, gold went off on its own and became its own speculative narrative. We're likely to see that re-emerge this year after whatever sort of risk washes off here... ultimately by the end of the year, we could end up closer to $5,500 and $6,000," Spivak said.

Spot silver XAG= fell 0.8% to $72.19 per ounce, platinum XPT= shed 1% to $1,959.82 and palladium XPD= slid 0.6% to $1,475.93.