New Delhi, April 2 -- Precious metals retreated sharply after US President Donald Trump signalled a major escalation in the Iran conflict, erasing hopes of a near-term resolution to the over month-long war in West Asia.

Fears of prolonged inflation and possibly higher interest rates once again dented investor confidence in safe-haven assets, causing Comex April gold futures to crash $233 per troy ounce to the day's low of $4,580, erasing most of their recent gains and putting them on track to end a four-day winning run.

May silver futures on Comex also reversed recent gains, falling $6.40 per troy ounce to touch the day's low of $69.61 earlier in the session.

In the domestic market, April gold futures on MCX crashed Rs.6,608 per 10 gra...