Crude oil prices continued their highly volatile trading pattern on Monday, advancing during the regular session before plummeting in post-settlement activity influenced by comments from former President Trump. His hints that the conflict with Iran might conclude sooner than expected also pressured the U.S. dollar lower, which helped gold prices recover from deeper losses. Meanwhile, aluminum prices on the London Metal Exchange declined.

Crude Oil: Market Sees Wild Swings as WTI Dips Below $90 After Hours Crude oil futures experienced significant volatility on Monday, with prices dropping in post-settlement trading following remarks by former President Trump, pushing values toward the $80 per barrel level. Amid mounting pressure and soaring energy costs, Trump suggested that the war with Iran could end shortly, stating that the timeline was ahead of schedule. The crude market oscillated amid sharp price swings as traders attempted to interpret various developments in the Iran conflict and its implications for global supplies. During regular trading, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fluctuated within a range of approximately $28. Brent crude settled below $99, after reaching an intraday high of $119.50; the decline from the session's peak to the settlement price marked a record drop. In a frenetic Asian trading session, WTI futures surged by as much as 31% at one point, driven by concerns that disruptions to tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz could sever supplies to the rest of the world. However, by the session's close, futures had relinquished most of those gains as major global economies considered a coordinated release of emergency petroleum reserves. WTI ended the day up approximately 4%. Subsequently, oil prices abruptly reversed course and fell sharply in after-hours trading following Trump's latest comments. WTI dropped more than 10%, hitting a low of $81.19. At the settlement: April WTI crude rose 4.3%, settling at $94.77 per barrel; It then fell over 10% in post-settlement trading; Last week, the futures contract recorded a 36% weekly gain; May Brent crude increased 6.8%, settling at $98.96 per barrel.

Precious Metals: Gold Pares Losses Following Trump Comments Gold prices trimmed their declines as the U.S. dollar weakened after Trump hinted that the war with Iran might be nearing its end. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell as much as 0.2%, aiding gold in recouping some of its losses; crude oil prices also dropped below $90 per barrel following Trump's statements. As of 4:25 p.m. New York time, spot gold was down 0.7% at $5,135.14 per ounce; silver prices advanced 2.2% to $86.42 per ounce; palladium and platinum prices also moved higher.

Base Metals: Aluminum Prices Decline Aluminum prices fell on Monday amid a broad sell-off in financial markets, after earlier touching a near four-year high due to supply concerns from the Middle East stemming from the ongoing conflict. Aluminum initially climbed 2.8% to $3,544 per metric ton but subsequently turned lower as equity market declines and a stronger U.S. dollar weighed on industrial metals. Aluminum had surged nearly 10% last week, its largest weekly gain in three years, as the Iran war raised fears about supply disruptions from the Middle Eastern region. At the London market close: LME copper futures increased 0.7% to $12,954 per metric ton; LME aluminum futures declined 1.8% to $3,385.5 per metric ton; LME nickel futures were largely flat at $17,469 per metric ton; LME zinc futures rose 0.9% to $3,328.5 per metric ton; LME tin futures advanced 1.2% to $50,685 per metric ton; LME lead futures decreased 0.8% to $1,936.5 per metric ton.