Oil Prices Soar on Middle East Tensions, Gold Declines Amid Hawkish Fed Bets

Oil prices surged on Monday as concerns over ongoing conflict in the Middle East intensified. Brent crude rose to around $98.30, breaching a recent consolidation range and pushing toward the psychologically significant $100 level.

The price of gold, however, declined further following last week's strong US employment numbers. Gold fell below $4,400 for a second consecutive session, despite ongoing structural support from central banks led by China and Poland.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin has faced resistance around the $80,000 level, while Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin dismissed predictions that AI could compromise its security and cause prices to plummet more than 50% within two years. He argued that most AI-driven threats would likely target software or network systems rather than Bitcoin's underlying cryptography.

On the technical front, Brent crude remains in a strong bullish trend, with a clear sequence of higher highs and lower lows from $91.49. The moving averages MA(5), MA(10), and MA(20) remain positively aligned, confirming that the short-term momentum remains positive.