Oil prices climbed to near two-week highs on Monday as escalating Middle East attacks heightened supply concerns, while gold retreated and memory-chip stocks fell on competitive pressures from China.
Brent crude futures rose 1.6% to $106.41 a barrel, hitting their highest level since September 29. US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 1.73% to $93.43 a barrel. The gains followed a series of attacks on Saudi Arabia and commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, raising fears of disruptions to global oil supplies.
Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for a Saturday strike on Riyadh's international airport that killed 13 people and injured more than 300. Further attacks were reported on Sunday. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations also reported that a tanker was struck by a drone near Oman's Sohar, while another was damaged while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump highlighted additional Russian diesel supplies and an energy ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Russia was expected to release more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel to US and global markets, though analysts questioned the immediate impact. Goldman Sachs raised its December Brent forecast to $90 a barrel from $85, estimating a risk premium of slightly more than $20 a barrel.
Gold falls as dollar strengthens, inflation data looms
Gold prices retreated after reaching a one-week high, pressured by a firmer US dollar and rising oil prices. Spot gold fell 0.61% to $4,168.10, while US gold futures for December delivery settled 0.58% lower at $4,191.80 an ounce.
Investors are awaiting US inflation data and remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh for clues about the central bank's monetary policy outlook. The Consumer Price Index report is due Wednesday, followed by the Producer Price Index and retail sales data on Thursday. Analysts do not expect the reports to show signs of easing inflation, which could weigh on precious metals.
Markets largely expect the Fed to hold interest rates steady later this month, although the probability of a rate hike by December stood at 87.7%, according to CME's FedWatch tool. Higher interest rates can make yield-bearing assets more attractive than gold. Silver fell 1% to $60.22 an ounce, while platinum and palladium also declined.
Micron, SK Hynix fall as China's CXMT advances memory technology
Shares of Micron Technology, SK Hynix and SanDisk declined on Monday as investors assessed the competitive implications of China's advances in memory-chip technology. Micron and SK Hynix shares dropped nearly 4%, and SanDisk declined 6%. Broader weakness in technology stocks and higher oil prices added to the pressure.
China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) announced progress in developing a “4F square” memory-cell architecture designed to increase storage density. CXMT President Cao Kanyu said the company planned to introduce a server-memory product based on the technology by the end of 2026. The design reduces the area occupied by individual memory cells, potentially allowing more data to be stored on a single chip.
Mainstream commercial dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) currently uses a 6F square-cell structure. CXMT's design uses a proprietary Vertical Surrounding Gate transistor intended to address current leakage while reducing cell size. The company also expects to release a new generation of DDR5 registered dual in-line memory modules for enterprise servers by year-end, although detailed specifications and an exact launch date have not been disclosed.
SK Hynix unveiled its own 4F square development plan in 2025, while South Korean media outlet The Elec reported that Samsung planned to begin mass-producing sub-10-nanometre DRAM based on the design by 2028.
Hall, Woodford win Nobel Prize in Economics
Economists Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Economics on Monday for their work on the microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic stabilisation. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recognised their research into how household and business decisions influence the broader economy and how policymakers can account for those decisions when seeking to maintain economic stability.
Their work emphasises that households and businesses make forward-looking decisions based on expectations about future economic conditions. These expectations influence current spending and saving, affecting overall economic activity. The research also highlights the role of communicating future policy plans, as clear guidance from policymakers can shape expectations and influence behaviour.
The award committee said the models have helped policymakers manage major macroeconomic crises more effectively, including the pandemic and recent energy crises, which it said had not produced the same long-term consequences for growth and inflation as the economic disruptions of the 1970s.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
