On Monday, July 14th, the international gold market opened lower during the Asian session, dropping $25 to $4,086.51 per ounce, and continued a downward trend. This movement was influenced by Iran's announcement over the weekend to close the Strait of Hormuz and two separate U.S. military strikes on Iran in the early hours, escalating tensions between the two nations. These events boosted WTI crude oil, which opened higher and surged over 3%, thereby increasing inflation expectations and the outlook for interest rate hikes, which in turn put pressure on gold prices. Consequently, gold faces continued adjustment pressure in the short to medium term. Until the U.S.-Iran situation is fully resolved, any rallies in gold are likely to be temporary and unsustainable. For trading, given the unpredictable and fluctuating nature of various factors, it is advisable to focus on capturing intraday or weekly trends for both long and short positions.

As of this evening, gold has already declined sharply by over 1.7% for the day, breaking through key support levels at $4,050 and $4,000 in succession. This confirms a prevailing short-term bearish pattern. Market volatility is expected to intensify this week as bulls and bears contend, likely leading to a significant expansion of the trading range. Looking at the prior context, the $4,200 level has acted as a major long-term resistance point, with multiple rallies failing to breach it. Both weekly and daily charts show price action suppressed below moving averages and the middle Bollinger Band, indicating that the entire month of July is likely to continue within a broad, weak consolidation range between $4,200 and $3,950. The immediate short-term support level has now shifted lower to around $3,950. Meanwhile, key short-term resistance levels have also moved down to $4,050 and $4,080. Unless the price can reclaim a position above $4,120, any short-term rebounds should currently be viewed merely as corrections within a broader downtrend.