Global oil prices rose significantly on Monday, May 11, a day after Iran's response to Washington's proposal called "unacceptable," raising concerns about supplies to global markets amid renewed tensions in the Middle East, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important shipping lanes for oil and gas.
Global benchmark Brent crude prices rose 4% to $105.5 per barrel, amid fears of supply disruptions and restrictions on the movement of oil tankers in the vital sea lane.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 4.8% to $100 a barrel as the so-called "geopolitical risk premium" that investors add to prices increases as tensions in production or transit zones escalate.
Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Philip Nova, said that trading in the oil market continues to be a machine for producing geopolitical headlines, with prices fluctuating sharply based on every comment, rejection or warning issued by Washington and Tehran.
U.S. officials also said Trump is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday and is expected to discuss Iran among other issues with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Analysts believe that the market's attention is now fully focused on President Trump's visit to China this week.
Gold falls globally under pressure from interest rates and inflation expectations
Gold prices witnessed a relative decline, affected by the rise in oil prices and renewed fears of high inflation rates globally, which reinforces expectations of the continuation of tight monetary policies and raising or stabilizing interest rates at high levels.
This climate typically reduces the attractiveness of gold as a non-yielding investment asset, compared to other interest-linked financial instruments, and prices in spot and futures have fallen, indicating investors' tendency to rebalance their portfolios between safe-haven and yield-yielding assets.
This contrasting landscape between the rise of oil and the decline of gold reflects a delicate situation in global markets, where the geopolitical factor intersects with the economic and monetary factor.
At the same time, tension in energy corridors, especially the Strait of Hormuz, remains a decisive factor in determining oil price trends in the coming period, as investors await any field or political development that could mitigate or increase risks.
Gold rises locally by 50 new lira
The price of a gram of 21 carat gold in the local market increased by 50 pounds in the new currency from the price recorded yesterday, Sunday, to record its highest price during the month of May.
According to the bulletin issued by the General Authority for Precious Metals Management, on May 11, the price of a gram of 21-carat gold was 17,600 pounds sold, and 17,300 pounds were sold, and the price of a gram of 18-carat gold was 15,100 pounds sold, and 14,800 pounds were sold, and the price of an ounce in the international market today reached $5,59,46.
Gradual increase during the month of May
Gold prices in the Syrian market during May 2026 witnessed a gradual rise, driven by local factors related to exchange rate fluctuations and the decline in supply in the markets, in addition to the increase in domestic demand for the metal as a savings haven.
Local experts attribute this rise to the fluctuation in the price of the Syrian pound against foreign currencies, and the decline in the quantities of gold traded in the markets as a result of weak imports, and these indicators confirm that the movement of gold in Syria during May was mainly affected by internal economic factors, away from the direct correlation with the fluctuations of global markets.
The General Authority for the Management of Precious Metals in Syria was formed with the aim of regulating and developing the gold and precious metals sector, and enhancing its role in the national economy, within an independent institutional framework financially and administratively, in addition to supervising the mechanism of gold pricing through goldsmiths' associations in the governorates.