By William Collins, consultant in stock markets – Eurasia Business News, March 11, 2026. Article no 2046
Oil prices are rising on March 11 despite a record International Energy Agency (IEA) reserve release, and gold is trading a little above 5,170 dollars.
Oil and the IEA release
The IEA’s 32 member countries agreed to release about 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves, the largest such drawdown in the agency’s history.
Markets doubt this will fully offset supply risks from the U.S.–Israel–Iran conflict and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, so Brent and WTI futures are still up on the day.
Brent crude is trading around 92 dollars per barrel, with intraday gains of roughly 2–5%, and U.S. WTI crude is in the mid‑80s dollars.
Oil markets are bracing for an even bigger potential price shock with Iran on warning that crude could surge to $200 per barrel if the war involving the U.S. and Israel against the Iranian regime continues to destabilize the Middle East’s energy corridors.
Oil futures rise as the conflict in the Persian Gulf continues with Iran increasing efforts to keep ships from transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Three commercial ships were reported hit near the strait.
Stock market tone
Rising oil and geopolitical tensions are weighing on equities, with major U.S. indices under pressure and investors concerned about the inflation impact and the risk of a deeper correction.
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Bond yields, such as the 10‑year U.S. Treasury, are moving higher as traders reassess how much room the Federal Reserve has to cut rates if energy‑driven inflation persists.
The S&P 500 retreated, with financial shares falling 0.8%. Goldman Sachs lost 1.2% and Visa dropped 1.7%, helping pressure the Dow industrials, which dropped 289 points, or 0.6%.
Amid these tensions, Google (GOOGL) announced on Wednesday that it has closed its $32B deal to acquire cybersecurity company Wiz, marking the tech giant’s largest acquisition ever.
Financials fell more than 1% on the day, with Goldman Sachs among the notable decliners in the Dow.
Energy shares underperformed as traders repositioned around volatile crude, while technology was the only clearly positive sector, helped by gains in chip makers such as Nvidia and Micron.
Gold price level
Gold is trading around 5,1720–5,210 dollars per troy ounce on March 11, up modestly on the day and near recent record territory.
March 2026 gold futures were near 5,172 dollars late in the session, down slightly on the day but still in a very elevated range historically.
The metal is being supported by safe‑haven demand from the war with Iran, a softer dollar, and lower real yields; over the past year it has risen on the order of 70–80 percent.
U.S. inflation at 2.4%
The U.S. Consumer Price Index rose 0.3% M/M in February, ticking up from a 0.2% increase in January but in line with the +0.3% consensus, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday.
On a year-over-year basis, the headline print held at 2.4% inflation, matching the consensus and the prior month’s rate.
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How to read this setup
Higher oil plus elevated gold price and rising yields point to markets pricing in stagflation‑type risks: slower growth with persistent inflation pressure.
In such an environment, historically, energy stocks and other commodity‑linked assets tend to fare better than broad indices, while rate‑sensitive and cyclically exposed sectors are more vulnerable.
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© Copyright 2026 – Eurasia Business News. Article no. 2046
Eurasia Business News 