Brent crude settled at $103.53 a barrel on Friday, down 72 cents, or 0.7%, and WTI settled at $90.97, down 52 cents, or 0.6%, after President Donald Trump said the United States would not strike Iran before the 3 November midterms. The Global Market Brief, citing Times of India and Livemint, said Brent jumped 4% on Thursday after fresh tanker attacks near the Strait of Hormuz and was still on track for a weekly gain after Friday's dip. Prices remain below the $126 peak hit earlier in the conflict. Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it struck the LPG carrier NV Sunshine. UK Maritime Trade Operations reported a projectile strike that set fire to the tanker GEM NO.2 off the UAE coast. Washington added sanctions on 17 vessels tied to Iranian crude. Hurricane Isaias had shut in 1.3 million barrels a day, or 62.9% of current Gulf of Mexico output, as of Thursday.
Oil eased a dollar. Bullion did not
A compiled Saturday reading from RM Intelligence put spot gold at $4,195.60, against a prior close it listed at $4,136.59. A separate live quote around the same hour was $4,194.48. On Thursday this desk had gold near $4,128 while Brent was near $104.75, so bullion has firmed while oil has eased about a dollar. Gold still sits under the 20-day average that note listed at $4,246.65. The same compile put the 10-year real yield at 2.90% as of 28 September and the dollar index at 102.21. Gold pays no coupon. A real yield near 3% is the cost of holding it. Friday's oil dip is a headline move inside a war premium, not a return to the pre-conflict price. See Thursday's $104.75 Brent print, the Fed's year-end hike bias, and bitcoin holding near $82,900.