Crude oil prices hover at $108/bbl as US-Iran conflict enters 5th week; COMEX gold down 1%; US stocks close lower last week

Crude oil prices continued to rise in the global market, hovering near $108 per barrel (bbl) as of the early market hours on Monday, March 30, 2026, as the US-Iran conflict entered its fifth week, with energy prices set to mark their highest monthly gain since the Gulf War amid the lack of any de-escalation in West Asia.

As of last week’s trading session on Friday, the Brent crude oil prices remained elevated due to the dynamic developments in the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran, hitting a high of $106.95 per bbl during the trading session on March 27.

The Brent crude oil prices surged to $109.44 per bbl in the early market hours on Monday.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices surged beyond the $100 per bbl psychological mark last week, hitting an intraday high of $101.24 during the trading session on March 27. The prices remained elevated at the beginning of the fifth week of the conflict, with crude oil hitting $103.10 per bbl in the early market hours.

Crude oil prices today

As of 7:07 am (IST), the Brent crude oil prices were trading 3.14% higher at $108.63 per bbl on Monday, compared to $105.32 per bbl at the previous commodity market close, according to Investing.com data.

While the US-based WTI crude oil futures were also trading 3.01% higher at $102.56 per bbl as of 7:09 am (IST) on March 30, compared to $99.64 per bbl at the previous market close, according to the data.

Why are crude oil prices rising today?

Crude oil prices are rising across the global market due to the heightened uncertainty over the frequent Israeli attacks on Iran, as the conflict entered its fifth week since the beginning on February 28, 2026.

According to a New York Times report, Israel launched a series of military strikes on Iran’s infrastructure in the national capital of Tehran and other nearby areas, provoking Iranian retaliation, while also vowing to seize more territory in Lebanon.

The report also highlighted that the security in West Asia is currently being tightened, with several hundred US Special Operations forces arriving in the region, joining thousands of Marine and US Army paratroopers in a deployment which gives Trump an additional option in the ongoing conflict with Iran, officials told the news portal. On Sunday, President Trump claimed that Iran has agreed to “most of” the 15-point list of demands put forward by the United States via Pakistan to potentially put an end to the raging conflict.

“They gave us most of the points. Why wouldn’t they? They’re agreeing with us on the plan. We asked for 15 things, and for the most part, we’re going to be asking for a couple of other things,” said Trump, according to a CNN report.

The heightened tensions are looming over the market despite Donald Trump’s announcement of a 10-day military strike pause on Iran’s key energy infrastructure, as both nations are in talks for a potential peace deal. However, so far, nothing official has been announced.

COMEX gold trades lower

The New York Mercantile Exchange-based COMEX gold prices were trading 1.1% lower at around $4,443 per ounce as of 9:35 pm (EDT) on March 29, compared to $4,492.50 per ounce at the previous market close.

Gold prices continued to witness pressure due to the heightened uncertainty and the rising US dollar demand in the market. With the rising price of the US greenback, precious metals witness a fall in demand as the buyers will be able to buy less of gold at a higher dollar rate in the market.

According to Bloomberg's US dollar spot index, the greenback was trading 0.03% higher at 100.185 as of 9:45 pm on March 29.

US stock market snapshot

The rising oil prices and the investors’ uncertainty over the conflict weighed down on the US benchmark stock market indices. The Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq recorded its fifth consecutive weekly drop as of the week ended closing on Friday, March 27, 2026.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.73% lower at 45,166.64 points last week, compared to 45,960.11 points at the previous market close, according to MarketWatch data. Stocks like Chevron, Coca-Cola, Merck & Co., and Walmart were among the day’s gainers, while others like Amazon, Salesforce, UnitedHealth Group and Visa Inc. were among the losers.

The S&P 500 index also closed 1.67% lower at 6,368.85 points compared to 6,477.16 points at the previous trading session. MarketWatch data showed that stocks like Entergy Corp., Brown-Forman Corp., and Campbell’s were among the gainers, while others like Datadog Inc., Moderna, and Coinbase Global were among the losers.

The Nasdaq Composite crashed 2.15% to close at 20,948.36 points, compared to 21,408.08 points. Stocks like Artelo Biosciences, ICZOOM Group, and Next Technology Holdings were among the gainers, while others like Iterum Therapeutics, XORTX Therapeutics, and Ridgetech were among the losers.