Gold on Track for Third Straight Monthly Loss; Traders Assess US-Iran Ceasefire Reportshttps://english.aawsat.com/business/5278324-gold-track-third-straight-monthly-loss-traders-assess-us-iran-ceasefire-reports
Gold on Track for Third Straight Monthly Loss; Traders Assess US-Iran Ceasefire Reports
Gold bars displayed inside Comptoir National de l'Or store in Paris (Reuters)
Gold was headed for a third straight monthly loss as the US-Israeli war on Iran kept concerns around inflation and US rate hikes elevated.
Spot gold rose 0.5% to $4,514.19 per ounce by 0610 GMT on Friday as investors assessed reports on reports of an extension to the US-Iran ceasefire extension. It had fallen to a two-month low of $4,365.76 on Thursday, but closed higher.
The bullion is on track to lose 2.4% for the month and about 15% over three months.
US gold futures for August delivery inched 0.3% higher to $4,544.80.
"Yesterday, we saw gold went down to $4,360 and was likely to go down further until the (ceasefire) announcement came, due to which we suddenly saw the reversal of prices. This is where the market continues to be this morning," said GoldSilver Central Managing Director Brian Lan.
"Markets are now waiting for the deal to be signed even if it's only just pending Trump's signature."
The United States and Iran reached an agreement on Thursday to extend their ceasefire and lift restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, sources told Reuters, though US President Donald Trump has yet to approve it and Iranian state media said it had not been finalized.
Oil futures fell more than 1% on Friday and were on track for their steepest weekly decline since early April, easing some concerns around inflation driven by higher energy prices due to the Iran war.
US inflation increased at its fastest pace in three years in April, cementing economists' views that the Federal Reserve would hold interest rates unchanged well into next year.
While gold is considered a hedge against inflation, the non-yielding asset tends to come under pressure in a high-interest-rate environment.
Spot silver fell 0.1% to $75.55 per ounce and palladium gained 0.6% to $1,375.25, with both metals headed for a weekly gain. Platinum lost 0.4% to $1,915.30 and was on course for a weekly loss.
Saudi Fintech, Cloud Services Drive Technology Sector Profit Boom
Women walk through the lobby of Elm Co. in the Saudi capital Riyadh. (Public Investment Fund)
Saudi Arabia’s listed technology companies posted strong first-quarter earnings for 2026, reflecting a structural shift in the sector as digital revenue growth converged with tighter control over operating and administrative costs.
Combined net profits for companies in the Kingdom’s applications and technology services sector rose 16% year-on-year to SAR1.07 billion ($285 million), up from SAR920 million ($245 million) in the same period last year. The performance underscores the sector’s growing ability to diversify revenue streams across cybersecurity, digital identity, managed services and cloud computing.
Analysts said the gains were fueled by the continued expansion of Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation programs, the rapid maturation of the fintech industry, infrastructure development and rising investment in cloud computing.
Strong corporate demand is also pushing the Kingdom’s information and communications technology market toward what analysts expect will exceed $100 billion in spending by 2031.
The sector includes five listed companies, four of which reported profits during the quarter: Elm Co., Solutions by stc, 2P Perfect Presentation and Al Moammar Information Systems Co. Bahr Al Arab Systems Information Technology continued to post quarterly losses through the end of the first quarter.
Elm accounted for roughly 61% of total sector profits, recording the highest net income at SAR656 million in the first three months of the year, up 32% from SAR495 million a year earlier. The company benefited from a 31% rise in revenue to SAR2.47 billion, in addition to lower research and development expenses.
Solutions by stc ranked second, posting profits of SAR370 million, up 2.5% from SAR361 million in the same quarter last year. The increase was supported by lower operating costs, reduced selling and administrative expenses, and a 6.3% rise in revenue to SAR3 billion.
2P Perfect Presentation came third in sector profitability, reporting net income of SAR33.06 million, up 2.4% from SAR32.28 million a year earlier. The company cited strong performance across most operating segments, particularly call center services, while revenue climbed 14% to SAR330.08 million.
The Saudi Data and AI Authority's (SDAIA) "Hexagon" data center, the largest government data center in the world. (SPA)
Five drivers behind the growth
Financial analyst Nasser Al-Rashid told Asharq Al-Awsat that the strong earnings growth reflects the intersection of several operational and strategic factors centered on five main pillars.
The first is sustained government and private-sector spending on digital transformation, which remains the sector’s largest growth engine, he explained. As government agencies and major corporations expand automation and strengthen digital infrastructure, demand has increased for technology solutions, data management, cybersecurity and cloud services, creating stable long-term revenue streams for companies with major public-sector contracts.
The second pillar is the rapid development of the fintech sector, which has accelerated adoption of digital payments, e-services, digital identity tools and smart business platforms. This has directly boosted recurring revenues and profit margins for technology and applications companies, Al-Rashid said.
Third, companies have improved operational efficiency, as reflected in lower operating and administrative costs and reduced sales and distribution expenses. This demonstrates that firms are not relying solely on revenue growth but are also improving profitability through tighter cost controls, he added.
The fourth driver is the expansion of cloud computing and data center services, among the industry’s most profitable activities, he continued.
Rising demand from businesses for cloud hosting, data analytics and managed services has increased returns on technology contracts as institutions reduce reliance on traditional infrastructure.
The fifth pillar is the diversification and quality of revenue streams, said Al-Rashid.
Major companies are no longer dependent on a single source of income but now generate returns from digital operations, cloud solutions, business platforms, call center services and systems management, reducing exposure to operational volatility and improving earnings sustainability, he went on to say.
Market analyst Tariq Al-Ateeq told Asharq Al-Awsat that Elm’s contribution of more than 60% of sector profits highlights the strength of its innovation-driven model built around government digital services, data and specialized solutions.
He added that the Saudi technology sector has formally entered a phase of “sustainable operational growth,” supported by Vision 2030, rapid digitalization and rising spending on technology infrastructure.
Al-Ateeq expects technology and applications companies to maintain solid earnings and revenue growth in coming quarters, albeit at a more balanced pace than in previous years.
The sector’s long-term expansion will continue to be driven by government digital transformation spending, the rapid growth of cloud and artificial intelligence services, and rising private-sector demand for automation, he remarked.
Oil Falls Over 1% on Reports of Potential US-Iran Ceasefire Dealhttps://english.aawsat.com/business/5278299-oil-falls-over-1-reports-potential-us-iran-ceasefire-deal
Sierra Leone-flagged crude oil tanker Altura transits the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Türkiye, March 16, 2026. (Reuters)
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Oil Falls Over 1% on Reports of Potential US-Iran Ceasefire Deal
Sierra Leone-flagged crude oil tanker Altura transits the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Türkiye, March 16, 2026. (Reuters)
Oil futures fell more than 1% on Friday and were on track for their steepest weekly decline since early April, following reports that the US and Iran had agreed to extend a ceasefire, though it had yet to be finalized.
Brent crude futures for July fell 1.1% or $1.04 to $92.67 a barrel at 0330 GMT. US oil futures fell $1.26, or 1.4%, to $87.64 a barrel. Brent plunged 10.5% this week - the steepest plunge since the week that ended on April 6, while WTI fell 9.2% - the biggest weekly loss since the week that ended on April 13.
The US and Iran reached an agreement on Thursday to extend a ceasefire and lift restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, sources told Reuters, though US President Donald Trump has yet to approve it and Iranian state media said it had not been finalized.
"Consensus remains the conflict is over, and a deal is coming. As long as this narrative holds, crude oil has room to extend its decline toward trendline support in the low $80s," IG analyst Tony Sycamore said.
Prices have been volatile in recent sessions, swinging by as much as $6 for both benchmarks on conflicting signals over a possible end to the three-month US-Israeli war on Iran and the potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz - a key conduit for roughly a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
Traffic through the maritime chokepoint remains a small fraction of the pre-war level. Analysts at ING said a reopening of the strait would offer some immediate relief to the oil market, but a recovery is still uncertain.
"Upstream oil production has fallen significantly since the war, with producers shutting in production in order to manage storage constraints," ING said in a note. "The recovery in upstream production will be gradual rather than immediate."
"Refineries in the region need to ramp up output. This will take time, given that some of this infrastructure was targeted in attacks earlier in the conflict."
Asia Stocks Surge, Oil Falls on Hopes of US-Iran Truce Dealhttps://english.aawsat.com/business/5278289-asia-stocks-surge-oil-falls-hopes-us-iran-truce-deal
Asia Stocks Surge, Oil Falls on Hopes of US-Iran Truce Deal
The US-Iran deal to extend the ceasefire is pending approval by President Donald Trump. WIN MCNAMEE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Asian stock markets surged and oil prices receded on Friday, boosted by optimism that the United States and Iran will reach a deal to end their war that has hobbled global energy supplies.
Oil markets have whipsawed this week as investors parse the chances of a breakthrough agreement between Washington and Tehran that could potentially resume normal shipping through the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
Those hopes had been briefly dashed by new US military strikes on Iran Wednesday night, countered by Tehran's Revolutionary Guard's targeting of an American airbase in the region.
But by Thursday evening, negotiators had edged toward a deal to extend their fragile ceasefire for 60 days, though approval from President Donald Trump was still needed, US sources told AFP.
That news reversed a sluggish start for shares on Wall Street, with major indices closing higher on the day.
During Friday morning trading in Asia, the price of Brent crude was down 0.9 percent to around $93 a barrel, while primary US benchmark West Texas Intermediate shaved 1.1 percent to just below $88 a barrel.
Leading indices on stock exchanges in Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei surged by more than two percent, while Sydney was up by one percent.
Hong Kong's gains were more muted, while Shanghai's main benchmark had lost 0.4 percent.
Wall Street's advances on Thursday came despite several gloomy indicators, with the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge rising in April to its highest since 2023 and first quarter economic growth being revised lower.
The combination of persistent inflation and slowing growth lowers the chances of interest rate cuts by the Fed, despite Trump's repeated calls for lower rates to boost the economy.
Still, "recession risks are easing as oil prices moderate and the probability of worst-case scenarios fades", wrote Matthew Martin of Oxford Economics.
"While reduced risks from the war have helped, the improvement in equity prices is mostly because of a robust earnings season. The driver is overwhelmingly AI-related capital expenditure," he said.
Global AI bullishness has driven a historic rally, this week pushing the market capitalizations of chipmakers Micron and SK hynix across the $1 trillion threshold.
In Europe, observers are awaiting a key gathering of leaders on Friday to discuss ways to address gaping trade deficits with China.
European Union commissioners will hold a debate on what the 27-nation bloc should do to defend the continent's companies from what Brussels describes as unfair competition from Chinese rivals.
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