Gold Hits $5,374, Oil Jumps as Middle East Tensions Spark Risk-Off on March 2

Risk appetite retreated as Middle East tensions escalated on March 2, driving funds into safe-haven assets and lifting commodities, BlockBeats reports. Spot gold rose 1.8% to $5,374 per ounce and spot silver climbed 2.6% to $96 per ounce during early Asian trading on Monday, while Brent crude reached $82.37 per barrel and WTI crude hit $80.82 per barrel; U.S. stock index futures opened lower with Nasdaq and Dow futures down over 1% and S&P 500 futures falling more than 0.9%. Markets feared an escalation between the U.S. and Iran could disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles about one-quarter of global seaborne oil trade, prompting capital flows into U.S. Treasuries, gold and the Swiss franc. Multiple institutions warned that oil prices advancing to the $90–100 per barrel range could revive inflationary pressures and potentially force the Fed to adjust its rate-cut path, while some strategists noted that elevated global equity valuations combined with geopolitical shocks may favor risk-off trades in the short term.