Crude oil prices trade near $77/bbl as focus remains on steady trade flow via Strait of Hormuz; gold down 0.5%

Crude oil prices witnessed a rebound to near $77 per barrel (bbl) levels during the early market hours on Tuesday, June 23, as investors remained cautious on the final leg of the US-Iran peace deal, with key focus on the steady trade flow of the energy source via the Strait of Hormuz.

After US President Donald Trump’s threat on Monday, which resulted in oil prices rising above $80 per bbl, the energy prices returned to their downward trajectory, with key focus on the supply and transport of oil and the optimism related to an upcoming final peace deal.

While the United States and Iran keep engaged in their final negotiations in the 60-day window, the US has also said that it will mediate another round of talks between Israel and Lebanon amid the recent exchange of strikes.

Oil prices today

At 7:27 am (IST), the Brent crude oil futures were trading 0.14% lower at $77.55 per bbl during Tuesday’s trading session, compared to $77.65 per bbl at the previous commodity market close, according to Investing.com data.

The data also showed that oil prices have cooled by more than 22% in the last one month, and around 1.4% in the last five trading sessions.

The US-based West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading 0.05% higher at $73.90 per bbl as of the trading session on June 23, compared to $73.86 per bbl at the previous market close.

Although the crude oil prices have witnessed a temporary cooldown, the energy prices still remain highly volatile and subject to significant movement and change in case of any potential disruption in the supply via the Strait of Hormuz, and in the event of any impact on the US-Iran peace deal.

Is oil flowing normally via Strait of Hormuz?

According to a CNN report citing MarineTraffic data, at least two dozen commercial vessels have transited the key maritime trading route, the Strait of Hormuz, in the last 24 hours.

As the maritime trade operations shift towards normalcy, commercial vessels, which include eight tankers, two cargo ships, exited the Strait of Hormuz, while eight tankers and six cargo ships entered, as per the report.

This comes at a time when US Vice President JD Vance said that Iran has agreed to admit nuclear monitors in the country after the negotiations in Switzerland. However, Iran has reportedly denied making any new commitments.

Due to the conflicting statements, the market sentiment remains unclear, as the risk of a prolonged military action remains if both sides fail to come up with the final peace deal in the specified timeframe.

Latest media reports showed that the US-mediated Israel and Lebanon talks are expected to begin on Tuesday, with a key focus of investors on the continued violations of the MoU by Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel.

Gold prices today

At 9:38 pm (ET), the New York Mercantile Exchange-based COMEX gold prices were trading 0.55% lower at $4,180.40 per ounce on Tuesday evening in the United States, compared to $4,202.70 per ounce at the previous commodity market close.

In the last five days, gold prices have declined over 4%, more than 7% in the last one month, and over 8% in the last three months, as per the exchange data.

With the US dollar trading at an elevated level on the backdrop of evolving geopolitical dynamics, gold prices remained under pressure as sellers fuelled lower demand for gold purchases at a higher currency rate in the market.

Bloomberg US dollar spot index (DYX) data showed that the greenback currency was trading 0.02% higher at 101.037 as of 9:39 pm (ET) on Tuesday evening in the US, compared to the previous market close levels.

Traders tend to buy less precious metals at a higher dollar price in the market, as the currency value is inversely proportional to the asset price traded in the global markets.