Commodities Wrap: Oil Jumps at the New-Week Open as Hormuz Tension Returns, While Gold Slips Below US$4,200
Oil opened the new trading week sharply higher as renewed tension around the Strait of Hormuz and conflicting signals over the US to Iran talks pulled a risk premium back into crude, while gold slipped below US$4,200, down about 1.8% from its Thursday settle, and silver and copper were little changed.
Price strip (new-week open)
- Brent crude (Aug’26): US$81.66 per barrel, up about 1.35% from Friday’s close of US$80.57
- WTI crude (Jul’26): around US$78.70 per barrel, firmer than its Friday level near US$77.5
- Gold (COMEX Aug’26): around US$4,170 per ounce, down about 1.8% from Thursday’s settle of US$4,245.9 and below US$4,200
- Silver (COMEX Jul’26): around US$64.6 per ounce, little changed
- Copper (COMEX Jul’26): around US$6.34 per pound, little changed
- Henry Hub gas: around US$3.2 per MMBtu
Prices from CNBC front-month futures, captured at the Sunday evening reopen of the new week; indicative as prices move continuously.
Oil leads the move
Crude was the clear mover. Brent traded around US$81.66 a barrel, up about 1.35% from Friday’s settlement of US$80.57, and US West Texas Intermediate firmed toward US$78.70, as the market repriced the risk that Gulf supply normalisation may not be as smooth as assumed. The catalyst was a fresh flare-up around the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran threatening to restrict passage even as shipping data showed vessels continuing to transit, and with the US to Iran talks in Switzerland sending mixed signals after pointed comments from Washington. That combination revived the war-risk premium that had been draining out of oil over the previous week.
Gold slips, base metals steady
Precious and industrial metals were mixed. Gold traded around US$4,170 an ounce, down about 1.8% from Thursday’s settle of US$4,245.9 and holding below the US$4,200 mark, as the hawkish Federal Reserve backdrop continued to weigh on the metal even with geopolitical risk back in focus. Silver held around US$64.6 an ounce and copper near US$6.34 a pound, both little changed, while US natural gas at Henry Hub hovered around US$3.2 per million British thermal units.
Why it matters for the region
For Gulf producers, a firmer oil tone at the week’s open offers some relief to the hydrocarbon revenues that underpin regional budgets, but the driver matters: this is a risk premium tied to renewed Hormuz uncertainty rather than a demand-led rally, and it can unwind as quickly as it appeared if tensions ease and Gulf barrels keep flowing. Gold’s slip below US$4,200, meanwhile, pares some of the recent gains in the region’s large official and private precious-metals holdings after their retreat from the wartime highs.
Outlook
The near-term path hinges on the Hormuz situation and the US to Iran talks. If shipping keeps moving and a durable agreement holds, oil could give back the new-week premium and settle in a lower range. If the strait is genuinely disrupted again, crude could extend its gains quickly. For gold and silver, the Federal Reserve’s higher for longer stance remains the dominant driver, with geopolitics a secondary support.
Sources: CNBC (Brent, WTI, gold, silver, copper and Henry Hub front-month futures).
