Oil, gas and gold rise as conflict enters fourth day

• Brent up 1.8%, WTI gains 1.7%
• Disruptions send gas prices soaring
• Safe-haven gold adds 1.6%

Oil prices rose further as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran entered its fourth day on Tuesday and supply risks heightened amid rising tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures reached $79.06 a barrel in early trade, up 1.8 percent, while US West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 1.7 percent to $72.19 a barrel. 

A Dutch benchmark for natural gas in Europe initially jumped around 50 percent on Monday after QatarEnergy said it had suspended production of LNG at its Ras Laffan Industrial City and Mesaieed Industrial City facilities following an Iranian strike. It later settled up around 35 percent.

Saudi Arabia temporarily shut the Ras Tanura oil refinery on Monday due to damage from what it said was debris from two intercepted drones.  

“If the conflict intensifies, with strikes against regional oil infrastructure and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, [oil] prices could rise toward $100+ a barrel,” said Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial.

“In an extreme and unprecedented scenario, a closure of the Strait of Hormuz would imperil nearly 20 percent of global oil exports.”

On Monday Brent crude had reached $82.37, its highest since January 2025 and WTI had climbed to its loftiest since June 2025.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps upped threats made on Saturday that it intends fully to impede passage through the crucial waterway, saying it will “attack and set ablaze any ship attempting to cross”.

Gold prices rose as the conflict persisted. Spot gold, often viewed as a safe-haven asset in times of crisis, gained 1.6 percent to $5,364 per ounce early on Tuesday, according to goldprice.org.

The precious metal hit a four-week high on Monday after US and Israeli strikes on Saturday killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“The situation remains highly uncertain and the escalation further fuels the bullish mood in the gold and silver markets, providing support to prices and stability to a portfolio at a time of heightened volatility in financial markets,” said Carsten Menke, head of next-generation research at Julius Baer.

US financial markets ended Monday mostly flat, while those in Qatar and Kuwait suffered fresh losses as continued Iranian retaliation against Gulf military, civil and energy infrastructure disrupted trade, business and air travel.

The S&P and Nasdaq were up 0.04 percent and 0.36 percent, respectively, while the Dow closed down 0.15 percent. The FTSE 100 fell 1.2 percent, its biggest one-day drop in about four months.

Stock exchanges in Abu Dhabi and Dubai are closed through Tuesday.  

“Markets hate uncertainty, and right now investors are facing one of the most unpredictable geopolitical backdrops in years,” said Josh Gilbert, market analyst at eToro.

“The key question is not just what has happened, but how long this disruption lasts and whether we see escalation or de-escalation in the coming days.”

President Donald Trump said the US is prepared for the military offensive against Iran to last four to five weeks, but has the capability to continue beyond that.