Commodity Overview: Oil Prices Plunge, Copper Prices Rise, Gold Price Narrows Losses

Crude oil prices plummeted as the U.S. temporarily halted strikes on Iran’s energy facilities. Copper prices rose, with signs of potential easing in Middle East tensions boosting market sentiment. Gold narrowed its losses, and silver also rebounded.

Crude Oil: Prices Crash as Trump Delays Strike on Iran’s Energy Facilities

Crude oil prices dropped sharply, experiencing one of the largest swings in history.

Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump postponed strikes on Iran’s power facilities and said his team was discussing ending the conflict, despite Iran’s denials.

Both Brent and WTI temporarily fell over 14%, then recovered some of the losses.

Following Trump’s announcement on Truth Social, which triggered intense volatility, Brent crude closed below $100 per barrel for nearly two weeks.

Trump later stated that U.S. envoy Wittekov and Kushner are negotiating with a senior Iranian official, hinting at possible joint management of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran repeatedly denied engaging in peace talks, limiting the decline in oil prices.

The potential for negotiations remains unclear, but if clarified, it could boost traders’ confidence in a resolution and continue to reduce the geopolitical premium in oil prices.

Trump told reporters, “Once an agreement is reached, oil prices will drop like a rock.” U.S. Energy Secretary Granholm also expressed a similar view.

“Market uncertainty remains high, and negotiations are expected to last several days. Volatility will persist — but the tone of negotiations may start to limit the upside potential for oil prices,” said Rebecca Babin, Senior Energy Trader at CIBC Private Wealth Group.

International Energy Agency (IEA) Director Birol stated that over 40 energy assets across nine Middle Eastern countries have suffered “severe or very severe” damage due to the Middle East conflict, which could lead to continued disruptions in global supply chains after the conflict ends.

WTI crude fell 10.3%, to $88.13 per barrel;

Brent crude dropped 11%, to $99.94 per barrel.

Base Metals

Copper prices rose after President Trump announced negotiations with Iran to end hostilities and a five-day delay in strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure.

Trump’s comments caused market volatility; London copper surged nearly two months’ worth of gains but narrowed after Iranian media reported that no negotiations had yet begun between the U.S. and Iran.

As a global economic indicator, copper previously hit a more than three-month low amid Middle East tensions, which dampened risk appetite and heightened concerns over global inflation and economic growth.

At the close, LME copper rose 2%, to $12,167 per ton;

LME aluminum fell 0.5%, to $3,199 per ton;

LME nickel increased 0.4%, to $17,082 per ton;

LME zinc rose 0.3%, to $3,077.5 per ton;

LME tin gained 1.5%, to $43,944 per ton;

LME lead edged up 0.1%, to $1,899 per ton.

Precious Metals

After Trump delayed military strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure, gold prices narrowed their earlier sharp decline. Silver also rebounded, recovering over 10% of its losses.

Spot gold briefly turned higher but then fell after Iran denied negotiations.

“Currently, gold’s trading behavior is similar to risk assets, just like during most periods of heightened risk aversion over the past twenty years,” said a Citigroup analyst in a Monday report. “Given the large momentum gold has accumulated over the past six months and retail buying patterns, this pro-cyclical asset’s performance is particularly extreme.”

As of 4:12 p.m. Eastern Time, spot gold fell 1.9%, to $4,405.76 per ounce;

Spot silver rose 1.7%, to $69.094 per ounce.