Precious metal prices were falling early Thursday as hopes of an off-ramp in tensions between the U.S. and Iran faded, weighing on financial markets. Continuous gold futures were down 2.1% to $4,456.70 an ounce. Silver futures, meanwhile, fell 4.6%. Elsewhere, the S&P 500 index dropped by 0.4%. President Donald Trump is said to want a resolution to the war in the coming weeks, The Wall Street Journal reported. But Tehran has so far publicly rejected talks with Washington. In a social-media post Thursday, Trump wrote that Iranian negotiators had been “begging” for a deal, but were not acknowledging that publicly. ... (full story)