Crude oil prices jump to $105/bbl after Trump rejects Iran’s response to US proposal; gold down 0.7%

Crude oil prices on the global market jumped to $105 per barrel (bbl) during the early hours on Monday, May 11, after US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s response to the US proposal of a potential peace deal with the West Asia conflict entering its 11th week since the beginning.

Latest media reports highlight that while Trump rejected Iran’s response, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu said that there is still “work to be done” in relation to the US-Israeli joint offensive against Iran, further intensifying the geopolitical tensions.

Global benchmark, Brent crude oil was trading near the $100 per bbl psychological market after midnight into Monday, post which the energy prices jumped to near $105 per bbl level as of the morning hours on May 11.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices were also trading near $95 per bbl levels before surging to $99 per bbl levels during Monday morning’s trading hours, according to exchange data.

Oil prices today

As of 7:22 am (IST), Brent crude oil prices were trading 3.3% higher at $104.64 per bbl on Monday, compared to $101.29 per bbl at the previous market session, according to Investing.com data.

The WTI crude oil prices were trading 3.72% higher at $98.99 per bbl as of 7:23 am (IST) on May 11, compared to $95.42 per bbl at the previous market close, as per the exchange data.

Trump rejects Iran’s proposal

US President Donald Trump, in a social media post, said that after reviewing the response from Iran about the US proposal of a potential peace deal, the Western leader called the response ‘totally unacceptable.’

“I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called ‘Representatives.’ I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” said Trump in his Truth Social post.

Over the weekend, Trump also claimed that Iran has been “playing games” with the United States and the rest of the world.

According to a CNN report, the US stands firm with its latest proposal that Iran will not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. The US ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, also said that “they cannot hold the world’s economies hostage.”

Investors continued to remain cautious in the market as the rising tensions between the United States and Iran amid last week’s attacks in the Strait of Hormuz have eroded the hopes of a near-term end to the conflict.

Gold price today

The New York Mercantile Exchange-based COMEX gold prices were trading 0.76% lower at $4,694.70 per ounce as of 9:52 pm (ET) in the United States, on Sunday, May 10, compared to $4,730 per ounce at the previous market close, as per the official data.

Gold prices were trading lower after the precious metal witnessed significant pressure in the market on the backdrop of a higher dollar. Traders tend to buy less of the precious metal gold when the dollar rate is higher as they will acquire lesser quantity at the same price.

The US dollar was witnessing higher demand in the market due to the elevated geopolitical tensions in West Asia, as investors shift their bets into the benchmark safe-haven asset in times of a high-risk market.

The data collected showed that the Bloomberg US dollar spot index (DYX) was trading higher with the greenback up 0.16% to 98.058 as of 9:52 pm (ET) on Sunday, compared to the previous market close.