Gold prices marginally lower in choppy session after posting a decline in April

Gold prices were slightly under the flat line on Friday, in a choppy session that saw swings on either side. The yellow metal is coming off slight losses for April, and remains near one-month lows. 

At 16:57 ET (20:57 GMT), spot gold slipped 0.2% to $4,613.77/oz, while gold futures were down 0.1% to $4,626.75/oz. 

Trading volumes were muted on account of market holidays across most of Europe and Asia. 

Gold nurses two months of losses; hawkish c.bank signals weigh 

Spot prices fell some 1% in April, extending losses after a near 12% slump in March as concerns over rising inflation, due to the Iran war, pushed traders largely towards the dollar.

A spike in oil prices also overshadowed gold, as the Iran war caused widespread disruptions in global crude supplies. 

Metal markets were pressured by a host of hawkish signals from major central banks this week. The Federal Reserve saw an increasing number of policymakers sounding the alarm on energy-driven inflation, while the European Central Bank, Bank of England, and the Bank of Japan all hinted at near-term rate hikes in the face of rising oil prices. 

Higher interest rates bode poorly for gold and other non-yielding assets, given that they increase the opportunity cost of investing in the sector.

Other precious metals steadied on Friday after a mixed performance in April. Spot silver rose 2.2% to $75.3505/oz, but was down about 2% in April.

Spot platinum climbed 0.3% to $2,000.30/oz, after clocking mild gains in the prior month.

U.S.-Iran deadlock shows few signs of easing

Continued U.S.-Iran tensions also kept traders largely averse towards gold and biased towards the dollar. 

Reports earlier this week showed President Donald Trump being briefed on more military actions against Iran, especially as attempts at brokering peace talks between Washington and Tehran fell flat. 

Iran’s state media on Friday said Tehran had submitted a new peace proposal to Pakistani mediators.

"Iran handed over the text to Pakistan – a mediator for negotiations with the United States – on Thursday evening," the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said. No other details were provided, but the news provided a boost to de-escalation hopes amid elevated tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

But those hopes were clouded somewhat after Trump told reporters Iran wants "to make a deal, but I’m not satisfied with it, so we’ll see what happens."

"We’re doing everything right now, in terms of the negotiation, telephonically. They’ve made strides, but I’m not sure if they ever get there," the president added.

"We just had a conversation with Iran. Let’s see what happens, but I would say that I’m not happy ... They’ve got to come up with the right deal. At this moment, I’m not satisfied with what they’re offering," Trump said.