Oil Climbs, Gold Hits 7 Year Record Amid US-Iran Tensions Over Assassinated Quds Commander

Monday, January 6, 2020
By Paul Martin

SputnikNews.com
06.01.2020

Already tense relations between the US and Iran hit a new low following a series of events which began two weeks ago with an attack on an American military outpost in northern Iraq, and culminated Friday morning with the US assassination of a top Iranian military commander on Iraqi soil.

Gold, palladium and other risk-averse assets hit major new highs in Monday morning trading on the Asian stock markets, as investors flocked to avoid the continuing fallout from the escalating conflict between Washington and Tehran. Oil, meanwhile, jumped amid fresh supply fears.

Brent crude futures briskly advanced over 3 percent or $2.14 to $70.74 a barrel amid investors’ fears that US-Iran clashes could see the closure of the Hormuz Strait, the crucial supply chokepoint through which an estimated 1/3 of the world’s oil passes daily. The last time crude hit Monday’s price levels was in September, when a Yemeni Houthi drone attack on two major Saudi oil facilities temporarily knocked out about half of the Kingdom’s output.

Rapidan Energy Group president and former Bush energy official Bob McNally predicted that crude would continue to grow to account for risk. “We are going to grind through the $70s up toward $80 Brent as Iran calibrates and executes its retaliation,” he said, speaking to Bloomberg.

Gold grew 2.3 percent in the space of hours to $1,588.13 per ounce, its highest showing since April 2013. Gavin Wendt, an analyst at Sydney-based financial services company MineLife, said that risks driving gold upward include the ongoing US-China trade talks, as well as the Iran conflict, making it “a no-brainer” for investors.

Palladium, a metal widely used in electronics, medicine, and for catalytic converters of automobiles, hit an all-time high amid a deficit in supply and stricter emissions standards worldwide, jumping 1.5 percent to $2,019.73, with silver and platinum also enjoying solid gains in Monday trading.

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