Prices for gold and oil are surging following U.S. and Israel attacks on Iran over the weekend. Extending a trend that began in late 2025, investors continued to abandon higher-risk assets in favor of safety as hostilities in the Middle East entered their third day.
Stocks were in retreat on Monday. All three major indices slid when the market opened, and with no clarity over the Iran conflict’s timeline, commodities could continue to outperform as uncertainty — a familiar theme since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term — grips global markets.
Here’s what you need to know about the war’s affect on gold, oil and gas prices so far.
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Strikes in Iran send oil prices sky-high, with gas to follow
At press time, Brent crude — the global oil benchmark — was trading for $78.44 per barrel. That marks a one-year high and a nearly 41% increase over the price per barrel on Dec. 16, when oil was trading at its one-year low.
Prices for West Texas Intermediate — the U.S. oil benchmark — have also surged to $71.14 and are likely to challenge their one-year high of $73.82 per barrel. Prices Monday morning were more than 29% higher than the one-year low of $55.14 on Dec. 16.
The major catalyst behind oil’s rallying prices is Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, a roughly 90-mile long, narrow maritime choke point connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman. According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, approximately 20 million barrels of oil — the equivalent of about 20% of total global petroleum consumption — is shipped through the strait daily.
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“The Iran crisis has entered a dangerous new phase, and markets are reacting accordingly,” Lukman Otunuga, a senior market analyst at FXTM, wrote in an email Monday morning. “With oil surging, volatility spiking, and investors rushing into traditional safe havens, we could see heightened turbulence over the coming days and weeks.”
On the consumer side, the war between Iran and Israel and the U.S. could affect prices at the pump.
Retail gas prices lag the price of oil, but Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, posted on X that “the national average is now up to $2.96/gal,” adding that he believes prices may touch $3 per gallon soon “as the jump in prices begins to show up at more stations.”
War with Iran likely to continue propelling gold prices
That turbulence has spilled into other commodity markets and is also bolstering the price of gold. When trading resumed on Monday, the precious metal jumped 1% to $5,333 per troy ounce, less than 5% off the all-time high gold hit in January.
As a traditional safe-haven asset, one of gold’s principal price drivers is geopolitical unrest.
Angelo Kourkafas, senior global strategist of investment strategy at Edward Jones noted in an email that these “flare-ups can create short term volatility, but recent episodes have produced limited and short-lived market impacts,” which remains the base case expectation for the financial services firm.
Volatility shield: Learn about Newport Gold Group’s precious metals price matching.
Still, short-term volatility can have outsized impacts on precious metal prices. One example came last June, when U.S.-Israel attacks on Iranian nuclear installations propelled the price of gold to less than 1% from its then-all-time high.
According to BullionVault, this most recent price action follows the first-ever full week of gold prices trading above $5,000 per troy ounce.
Must Read
- Experts are Bullish on Gold — Here’s How to Get In
- 3 Ways You Can Make Cash on Your Couch
- These Are the Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Right Now
Prices for gold and oil are surging following U.S. and Israel attacks on Iran over the weekend. Extending a trend that began in late 2025, investors continued to abandon higher-risk assets in favor of safety as hostilities in the Middle East entered their third day.
Stocks were in retreat on Monday. All three major indices slid when the market opened, and with no clarity over the Iran conflict’s timeline, commodities could continue to outperform as uncertainty — a familiar theme since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term — grips global markets.
Here’s what you need to know about the war’s affect on gold, oil and gas prices so far.
Must Read
Experts are Bullish on Gold — Here’s How to Get In
3 Ways You Can Make Cash on Your Couch
These Are the Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Right Now
Strikes in Iran send oil prices sky-high, with gas to follow
At press time, Brent crude — the global oil benchmark — was trading for $78.44 per barrel. That marks a one-year high and a nearly 41% increase over the price per barrel on Dec. 16, when oil was trading at its one-year low.
Prices for West Texas Intermediate — the U.S. oil benchmark — have also surged to $71.14 and are likely to challenge their one-year high of $73.82 per barrel. Prices Monday morning were more than 29% higher than the one-year low of $55.14 on Dec. 16.
The major catalyst behind oil’s rallying prices is Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, a roughly 90-mile long, narrow maritime choke point connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman. According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, approximately 20 million barrels of oil — the equivalent of about 20% of total global petroleum consumption — is shipped through the strait daily.
Pet protection: See Lemonade’s pet insurance options — save and protect your cat or dog from high vet bills.
“The Iran crisis has entered a dangerous new phase, and markets are reacting accordingly,” Lukman Otunuga, a senior market analyst at FXTM, wrote in an email Monday morning. “With oil surging, volatility spiking, and investors rushing into traditional safe havens, we could see heightened turbulence over the coming days and weeks.”
On the consumer side, the war between Iran and Israel and the U.S. could affect prices at the pump.
Retail gas prices lag the price of oil, but Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, posted on X that “the national average is now up to $2.96/gal,” adding that he believes prices may touch $3 per gallon soon “as the jump in prices begins to show up at more stations.”
War with Iran likely to continue propelling gold prices
That turbulence has spilled into other commodity markets and is also bolstering the price of gold. When trading resumed on Monday, the precious metal jumped 1% to $5,333 per troy ounce, less than 5% off the all-time high gold hit in January.
As a traditional safe-haven asset, one of gold’s principal price drivers is geop
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