London, June 15, 2026, 15:03 (BST)
- Oil dropped to the lowest in three months as the U.S. and Iran agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
- Spot gold is up 3% and silver climbed 4.6%. Both metals moved higher as oil fell and markets saw some relief on inflation and rate worries.
- Traders remain cautious. The deal is still only a framework, and nuclear issues and shipping safety are unresolved.
Gold and silver gained Monday, but oil prices slid after the U.S. and Iran agreed to halt fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The energy market has tracked the strait for months. Both sides plan to sign an MOU in Switzerland on Friday, though details are still missing. Their nuclear talks have been delayed for another 60 days.
Oil prices tumbled. Brent crude slid $4.16, or 4.8%, to $83.17 a barrel by 1315 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was down $4.39, or 5.2%, to $80.49. Both contracts touched lows not seen since March 10, according to Reuters. Trump said the strait will reopen “toll free” and the U.S. plans to lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports. Ships with oil are passing through the Southern “Highway” again, Trump said. Reuters
Gold jumped as traders shifted from worries about oil-fueled inflation to betting on rate cuts. Spot gold shot up 3% to $4,344.77 an ounce by 08:42 a.m. EDT, the highest since June 9. U.S. gold futures gained 3% at $4,366.80. Silver was up 4.6% at $71.07. Platinum and palladium both gained as well, with rises of 4.6% and 5.1%. “The gold market is moving past the conflict and pricing it out,” Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures, told Reuters. Reuters
Spot gold hovered around $4,336.20, up 2.79% early in U.S. hours, according to Kitco. Spot silver was higher too, gaining 4.07% at about $70.670. Metals prices stayed firm while crude lost ground and the dollar fell. Safe-haven buying slowed down. Reuters said the dollar traded close to a 10-day low as traders pulled back on bets for a U.S. rate hike this year. Traders are looking ahead to the Federal Reserve’s June 16–17 meeting.
Relief in energy markets is limited. The Strait of Hormuz has been shut for more than three months, blocking about 20% of the world’s oil and LNG flows. “It will take time for oil to approach the pre-crisis level,” said Tamas Varga at PVM Oil Associates. Shippers are still wary, with Reuters saying mine-clearing could continue for weeks. Reuters
Some analysts think crude won’t have much more room to drop unless the deal holds up. Ole Hansen at Saxo Bank said Brent could bottom out around $75 to $80. David Jorbenaze at ICIS said it could take four to six months for actual trade flows to get back to normal, and if the pact holds, pre-conflict shipping might not return until 2027.
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