Gold Tumbles After Trump's Iran Warning

(RTTNews) - Gold prices plunged on Thursday as the dollar and bond yields surged after U.S. President Donald Trump's warning to hit Iran 'extremely hard' over coming weeks.

Spot gold tumbled 2.9 percent to $4,621.81 an ounce while U.S. gold futures for June delivery were down 3.5 percent at $4,645.56.

Oil prices jumped more than 7 percent, reviving fears of rising inflation and slowing economic growth, as Trump's address to the nation on the war in the Middle East damped hopes for a swift resolution to the conflict.

Trump's highly anticipated speech provided little clarity on when the conflict might end.

Trump said the U.S. military goals were "nearing completion," and that Iran would be hit "extremely hard over the next two to three weeks." He claimed the drawbacks were short-term, and urged Americans to see the conflict as an "investment".

The Iranian military has responded to Trump's latest remarks, warning that the war in the Middle East will continue until the United States faces what it described as "lasting humiliation and surrender".

In a statement, Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, threatened to launch "stronger, wider, and more destructive" attacks against the U.S. and Israeli forces, and maintained that key defense assets, including missile production facilities, long-range attack and precision drones, modern air-defense systems, electronic warfare, and electronic warfare capabilities, remain intact and operational.