Oil and gas prices continued their sharp decline in global markets, driven by cautious optimism following news that the United States and Iran are about to reach a peace deal to end the war that has rocked energy markets over the past months.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 5.1% to a two-month low of $83.88 per barrel for June delivery.
Brent futures fell 4.3% to $86.51 a barrel.
On the natural gas front, European gas futures fell as much as 8.4%, reflecting market bets on an imminent breakthrough in energy supplies.
The drop in prices coincides with the continued security risks in the shipping lanes, with Fox News reporting that US forces shot down two Iranian drones that targeted commercial ships overnight. Despite Tehran's announcement that the Strait of Hormuz was closed to navigation in response to the US attacks, reports from shipment tracking company Vortexa confirmed a 50% jump in oil flows out of the strait in recent weeks amid the so-called double blockade, which explains the bet The investment funds believe that the economic losses of the failure of the negotiations will force the parties to conclude a settlement in the end.
Gold Stability and ECB Interest Rate Decision
The prices of the yellow metal (gold) stabilized as traders evaluated the technical and political shiftsg
Spot gold rose 0.3% to surpass $4224.77 an ounce, recouping some of its previous losses, but is on track to record its second consecutive weekly decline, prompting Julius Baer to lower its price forecast for the metal in the coming months to $4250.
The war, which is in its fourth month and has disrupted supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, prompted the European Central Bank to raise interest rates for the first time in three years to rein in soaring inflation, amid Christine Lagarde's warnings of widening economic pressures.
Coinciding with this momentum, the Chicago Stock Exchange (CMG) announced plans to make gold futures available for trading all day throughout the week from July 26 to meet the growing demand.
Global financial markets stopped rising
Stocks and bonds rallied on optimism of an imminent end to the US-Iran war, as traders awaited confirmation of a deal.
S&P 500 futures fell 0.2%, after the index rose 1.8% in the previous session, and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.5%.
U.S. Treasuries were little changed, while oil prices continued to fall as the Brent blend is on track to record its first close below $90 a barrel since the early days of the war.
While the U.S. dollar rose 0.2%, gold fell to around $4,172 an ounce, and Bitcoin fell 0.6% to $62,955.
Shadow markets (informal markets) price SpaceX stock jumped at least 35% in its first trading session.
Other markets rushed to catch up with Wall Street's gains on Thursday, driven by chip stocks, with the European STOXX 600 index up 1.2% as cyclical-sensitive sectors outperformed others, while MSCI's Asia-Pacific index climbed 2.5%, supported by a rise in South Korea's Kospi index.
British government bonds also led gains as bond yields fell across Europe, with the 10-year UK bond yield falling seven basis points to 4.83%.
Traders are awaiting the end of the more than 100-day war, which has caused the biggest oil supply crisis in history and has upset global markets.
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