Published On 3/6/2026
Oil prices rose in trading on Wednesday, with a military escalation in the Gulf, after the US military announced that Iran had fired missiles at Kuwait and Bahrain, while gold fell in spot transactions under the pressure of inflation fears and interest rates remaining high for a longer period.
Brent crude futures rose $0.91, or 0.94%, to $96.91 per barrel at the time of writing these lines, and US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.03, or 1.10%, to $94.79 per barrel.
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The US military said that Iran launched ballistic missiles towards Kuwait and Bahrain, but they did not hit their targets, adding that its forces launched raids on the Iranian island of Qeshm in response to the attack attempts.
Markets are monitoring developments in the US-Israeli war on Iran, at a time when Tehran is studying a proposed agreement with Washington to stop the war, while Iranian media reported yesterday, Tuesday, that Tehran has not communicated with Washington for several days, despite US President Donald Trump saying that negotiations are continuing.
Strait of Hormuz
Reuters quoted ANZ Bank’s chief commodities strategist, Daniel Haynes, as saying that any efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz face challenges, with Iran laying mines in large parts of this vital waterway.
Haynes added that there was a slight increase in the number of ships attempting to cross, but the total number was still far below pre-conflict levels.
More than 3 months after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, the war reached a stalemate under a fragile ceasefire.
In terms of supplies, market sources, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute issued yesterday, Tuesday, said that US crude oil inventories fell for the seventh week in a row, as they fell by 6.8 million barrels in the week ending May 29.
US government data on inventories is due later today, as the market continues to assess the impact of supply disruptions and geopolitical tensions on energy prices.
Gold is falling
On the other hand, gold in spot transactions fell 0.34% to $4,474.81 per ounce at the time of writing these lines, while US gold futures for August delivery rose 0.55% to $4,531.
Gold’s immediate decline came after renewed escalation in the Gulf raised oil prices, reinforcing fears that inflation would remain high and prompting central banks to keep interest rates high for a longer period.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that Trump’s negotiating team did not offer Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that this was linked to Tehran abandoning its nuclear program.
Cleveland Federal Reserve Board President Beth Hammack said on Tuesday that the US central bank may have to raise interest rates soon if already high inflation pressures continue to escalate.
Investors are waiting for the US non-farm payrolls data, scheduled for release later today, and the employment report on Friday, to assess the course of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.
Swiss customs data released yesterday showed that gold exports from Switzerland in April decreased by 20% from the previous month, as shipments to Britain and China slowed, which offset the rise in shipments to India and Hong Kong.
The performance of other precious metals was as follows:
- Silver fell in spot transactions by 0.53% to $74.74 per ounce.
- Platinum fell 0.76% to $1,928.60.
- Palladium rose 0.25% to $1,377.67.
