oil prices slightly corrected on Thursday after slumping by more than 4 percent a day earlier and has returned to levels of mid-December, according to MarketWatch. Futures for Brent crude traded on the morning of 9 January on the London exchange ICE Futures at the level of 65,9 USD per barrel. On Wednesday, the contract fell $ 2.83 USA, to 65.44 dollars per barrel.
Earlier Wednesday, the February gold futures on the Comex fell in price by 14.1 per dollar, or 0.9% to 1 560,2 dollars per ounce. Before they reached the intraday high of 1 613,30 dollars per ounce. The most actively traded contracts were kept at levels close to the highs from 2013. March silver futures closed down 23 cents, or 1.2% 18,167 per ounce.
In recent days, the price of these metals rose as investors purchased safe-haven assets to protect their portfolios against the risk of a wider conflict between USA and Iran. Gold started to rise on Friday after the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and continued to rise on Tuesday, when Iran launched a missile attack on U.S. military facilities in Iraq.
Missile strikes stirred up the markets, but rising prices for safe-haven assets such as gold, slowed down after the Iranian foreign Minister said the attacks were "proportionate measures of self-defence" and had the purpose of strengthening the escalation or the outbreak of war.
President of the United States Donald trump on Wednesday decided to impose new economic sanctions against Iran. He did not specify exactly what it will be limitations. According to him, his administration will also continue to explore options for response actions after the Iran attack bases in Iraq on the us military. The President assured that Washington is ready to work for peace with everyone who wants it.
