London, Oct. 26 (SANA) Brent crude fell below $115 a barrel in early trading on Monday, while gold hovered near $4,000 an ounce after its steepest weekly decline since June, as investors assessed the impact of the U.S.-Iran war and the outlook for U.S. monetary policy.
Brent retreated after reaching a six-month high last week, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude traded near $101 a barrel, Bloomberg reported.
Oil prices faced downward pressure as Washington and Tehran remained at odds amid the ongoing conflict, while technical indicators pointed to potentially overbought market conditions.
Brent’s 14-day relative strength index (RSI) stood above 74 on Friday, exceeding the 70-point threshold that some traders consider a sign of overbought conditions and a potential price correction.
Despite the latest decline, Brent has gained about 90 percent since the start of the year amid oil supply disruptions linked to the U.S.-Iran war and the widening regional conflict, including attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militia on oil and civilian facilities in Saudi Arabia.
Gold steadies after sharp weekly decline
In Singapore, spot gold edged down 0.1 percent to $3,993.20 an ounce as of 8:18 a.m. local time, after falling more than 4 percent last week, its biggest weekly decline since June, according to Bloomberg.
Investors remained focused on the inflationary impact of higher energy prices and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s upcoming monetary policy decision.
Gold has lost roughly a quarter of its value since the U.S.-Iran war began in late February, weighed down by expectations of tighter monetary policy as major economies seek to contain inflation.
The precious metal came under additional pressure last week as investors shifted funds from artificial intelligence-related stocks into bonds, while some sold gold holdings to cover losses in equity markets.
Other precious metals edge higher
Silver rose 0.5 percent to $54.12 an ounce after falling 5.4 percent the previous week, while platinum and palladium posted modest gains.
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