17.06.2025 01:04

An Israeli airstrike targeted Iran's state-run broadcaster on Monday, coinciding with a report from the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog detailing significant damage to Iran's primary uranium enrichment plant. This escalation prompted Iran to directly appeal to the United States, urging former President Donald Trump to intervene and pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into immediately halting the ongoing aerial conflict.

According to Reuters, Iran's diplomatic efforts extended to multiple nations, including Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, all of whom were asked to leverage their influence to secure Trump's intervention. This unprecedented plea underscores the gravity of the situation and Iran's concern about the escalating conflict.

Simultaneously, global markets reacted to these geopolitical developments. At the time of writing, gold prices (XAU/USD) experienced a 0.48% increase, reaching $1,940. This upward trend reflects investors' risk aversion in response to heightened geopolitical uncertainty.

This market behavior can be understood within the context of "risk-on" and "risk-off" sentiment. In "risk-on" markets, investors embrace riskier assets due to optimistic market outlooks, leading to rises in stocks, most commodities (excluding gold), and cryptocurrencies. Conversely, a "risk-off" environment, characterized by investor apprehension, typically sees a flight to safety, boosting the value of government bonds, gold, and safe-haven currencies like the Japanese Yen, Swiss Franc, and US Dollar. The Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand dollars, along with several emerging market currencies, usually strengthen during "risk-on" periods. The current gold price increase suggests a prevailing "risk-off" sentiment driven by the escalating tensions in the Middle East.