Gold Slips Below $4,000 as Brent Hits $115 on Houthi Attacks and Rate-Hike Fears

Spot gold fell below $4,000 an ounce on Friday morning as rising oil prices fueled inflation and higher-rate fears, according to the summary supplied. Gold traded at $3,982.19, down 1.05%, after touching $3,975.88. Brent crude reached $115.16 a barrel, its highest since May 4, as Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia raised concerns about disrupted energy supplies.

Price action

By our calculation, $3,982.19 is about $17.81, or 0.4%, below the $4,000 mark, and the $3,975.88 low is about 0.6% below it. BigGo Finance said it was gold's first move below $4,000 since July 29.

Why oil is hitting gold

Higher oil prices feed inflation, which raises the odds the Federal Reserve keeps policy tight or tightens further. That lifts the dollar and real yields and reduces the appeal of non-yielding gold, according to BigGo Finance. The Fed meets Oct. 27–28. BigGo cited CME FedWatch as showing a 92.8% chance of no change in October and a 74.8% probability of a cumulative 25-basis-point hike by December.

The oil move follows an escalation in Saudi Arabia. According to The National, the Houthis claimed attacks over the prior 48 hours on the Saudi Defence Ministry headquarters in Riyadh, airports in Dammam and Abha, and an Aramco site in Yanbu. Two people died at Dammam airport, and Saudi Aramco evacuated its Dhahran headquarters. UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo told Reuters the market is worried about escalation that could cause renewed supply disruptions, with volatile flows and high freight rates leaving it undersupplied.

Selling pressure

MUFG cited investors selling gold to cover stock and bond losses, according to the summary supplied. Pepperstone warned that a decisive break below $4,000 could trigger further liquidation. FinanceFeeds likewise attributed Friday's move to forced selling as the Nasdaq fell more than 2% in an AI-led rout, though it said that did not reflect a change in gold's outlook.

Sources: Reuters, via The Standard (Hong Kong) (Oct. 23); The National (Oct. 23); BigGo Finance (Oct. 23); FinanceFeeds (Oct. 23). Gold's Friday-morning price, the intraday low, the Brent price, and the MUFG and Pepperstone comments are as given in the summary supplied. This is informational, not a recommendation to buy or sell.