Gold Holds Near $4,075 as Crude Oil Retreats on Mideast De-escalation

The drop in energy costs offered a modest tailwind for precious metals, with Brent crude settling at $85.87 and U.S. oil at $82.61—a slide of over 6% for both benchmarks. This shift eased pressure on Treasury yields, which retreated to the 4.6% area. Despite the temporary calm, the Strait of Hormuz remains a critical bottleneck for global energy supplies, as current pipeline alternatives lack the capacity to fully replace the shipping channel's output.

Gold remains caught in a tug-of-war between geopolitical headline risk and the restrictive monetary policy environment. With the FOMC meeting looming, the market is pricing in a non-negligible chance of a 25-basis-point hike. Any hawkish signals from the Fed could cap further gains, even as bullion retains support from ongoing uncertainty in the Persian Gulf. Equity markets reacted with caution to the cooling tensions, as fuel-sensitive sectors gained while technology stocks faced selling pressure.