Gold tumbles 3% on reports of Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, US Treasury pick

Gold prices plunged about 3% on Monday, breaking a five-session rally to its highest in nearly three weeks, as reports of Israel nearing a ceasefire with Hezbollah, coupled with Trump’s nomination of Scott Bessent as the U.S. Treasury Secretary soured the precious metal’s safe-haven appeal.Spot gold fell nearly 3% to $2,634.78 per ounce by 10:25 a.m. ET (1525 GMT), its biggest daily percentage decline since Nov.06. U.S. gold futures shed 2.8% to $2,636.50Gold prices were primed for a sell-off on buying exhaustion after last week’s rally. Scott Bessent’s Treasury Secretary appointment further took away some of the risk premium associated with the U.S., said Daniel Ghali, commodity strategist at TD Securities.And even more so, reports that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to terms of an agreement to end the Israel and Hezbollah conflict have pushed gold prices even further (lower).”Gold is traditionally seen as a safe investment during economic and geopolitical uncertainty such as conventional or trade wars.Some market participants see Bessent as less negative for a trade war, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.