Crude oil prices jumped to above the $80 per barrel (bbl) level after the commodity markets re-opened for trading on Monday, June 22, as global investors focused on US President Donald Trump’s latest threat to Iran amid the final peace deal negotiation window.
Global benchmark Brent crude oil prices surged to an intraday high of $81.38 per bbl during the early market hours on Monday, India time, according to Investing.com data. However, on a weekly and monthly basis, the oil prices were trading lower in the global market.
Key focus on investors will remain on monitoring the benchmark oil prices as the commodity remains subject to high volatility linked to the developments in the West Asia peace deal negotiations.
Last week, the United States and Iran signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreeing to implement an immediate ceasefire and open oil trade via the Strait of Hormuz as both nations continue to negotiate the final peace deal in the next 60 days.
Oil prices today
After their intraday high in early market trade, Brent crude oil prices were trading 1.5% lower at $78.80 per bbl on Monday, compared to $80.05 per bbl at the previous commodity market close, according to Investing.com data.
Crude oil futures were trading 4.18% lower over the last five days, and more than 21% lower in the last one month. The oil prices have cooled down nearly 26% in the last three months, as per the exchange data.
US-based West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices were trading 0.49% lower at $75.47 per bbl on Monday, June 22, compared to $75.85 per bbl at the previous market close. The exchange data also showed that the futures jumped to an intraday high of $78.08 per bbl on Monday’s market after Trump’s latest threat.
West Asia conflict update
US President Donald Trump threatened Iran that the country should take action against Hezbollah, militant group in Lebanon, after the attacks on Israel; otherwise, the United States will take action, striking the Gulf nation amid the ongoing peace agreement.
“Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!” said Donald Trump in his post on Truth Social.
Media reports suggest that over the weekend, Hezbollah fired around 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in the region, while the Israeli airstrikes killed at least 20 people in less than 24 hours after the peace deal between the United States and Iran, in agreement with the allied nations.
After Trump’s comments, Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, in a social media post on X, said that if the threats from the United States worked, then the country would not have reached “this level of desperation today.”
“We don’t take the Americans’ threats seriously at all,” he said, according to a CNN report.
Gold prices today
The New York Mercantile Exchange-based COMEX gold prices were trading 0.8% lower at $4,208.90 per ounce as of 10:09 pm (ET) in the United States on Sunday evening, compared to $4,245.90 per bbl at the previous commodity market close.
Gold prices have lost 7.2% in the past month and 7.9% in the last three months, yet the precious metal was trading 0.6% lower over the last five trading sessions in the global markets.
The precious metal prices were trading lower on the backdrop of a higher US dollar rate in the market, which was over the psychological 100 level due to the recent threats over the rounds of escalations after the US-Iran MoU deal.
Bloomberg US dollar spot index (DYX) data showed that the greenback was trading at 100.838 as of 10:10 pm (ET), compared to the previous currency market close, as per the exchange data.