en.Wedoany.com Report on Mar 21st, Military strikes launched by the United States and Israel against Iran have led to sustained geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which in turn has caused international oil prices to rise on the 20th.
At the close of the day's trading, the price of light crude oil futures for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $2.18 to settle at $98.32 per barrel, an increase of 2.27%. The price of Brent crude oil futures for May delivery on the London market rose by $3.54 to settle at $112.19 per barrel, an increase of 3.26%.
According to information from the United States on the 19th, since the military strikes launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran on February 28th, international oil prices have surged by approximately 50%, and recent attacks on oil facilities by the conflicting parties have further pushed prices higher. Currently, the price of Saudi light crude oil sold to Asian buyers via Red Sea ports is around $125 per barrel.
Some Saudi officials stated that as inventories are depleted, this price could approach $138 to $140 per barrel next week. Several Saudi officials anticipate that if the conflict persists until the end of April, with supply unable to recover and the Strait of Hormuz difficult to navigate, international oil prices could continue to climb, potentially exceeding $180 per barrel.
International Gold and Silver Prices Fall on the 20th
On the 20th local time, international gold and silver prices fell. The spot price of gold dropped below $4,500 per ounce, a decline of over 3%; the spot price of silver fell below $68 per ounce, a drop of nearly 7%. This month, the spot price of gold has fallen by nearly 15%, and the spot price of silver has dropped by over 27%.
Market analysts noted that although geopolitical risks should theoretically be favorable for precious metals, rising oil prices have reignited inflation expectations, leading to a significant cooling of market expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, which has caused a "counter-intuitive" decline in precious metal prices. At the same time, profit-taking from earlier positions has also contributed to this round of "abnormal" price movements in precious metals.
