Iran War Reshapes Markets: Traders Hire Spies as Gold Loses Safe-Haven Status

• Escalating Iran war forces commodity traders to hire security consultants and tap shadow intelligence networks due to critical information blind spots.
• Oil and gas markets are now driven by battle damage assessments, with traditional data and satellite imagery becoming unreliable amidst rapid conflict escalation.
• Brent crude surged to nearly $119/barrel and European natural gas prices spiked following strikes on key energy infrastructure.
• Gold, silver, copper, and palladium declined significantly, with gold falling over 3% as rising inflation expectations and a stronger US dollar diminish its safe-haven appeal.
• Damage to facilities like Qatar’s Ras Laffan tightens global gas supplies, impacting industries like aluminum and semiconductors, and raising energy costs for major importers.