Gold slid to its lowest level in two months after the US launched military strikes against Iranian missile sites and drone facilities on May 26, shattering what remained of fragile ceasefire negotiations in the region. Spot gold fell 1.7% to roughly $4,380 per ounce, a move that caught some investors off guard given the metal’s traditional reputation as the thing you buy when the world gets scary.
Here’s the thing: gold didn’t act like a safe haven this time. Instead, a surging US dollar and spiking oil prices created a toxic cocktail that pressured the yellow metal lower, even as geopolitical risk went through the roof.
The ripple effect hit crypto hard
Bitcoin didn’t fare any better. The largest cryptocurrency dropped below $73,000 in the aftermath of the strikes, with major digital assets broadly declining 3-4%.
The damage was particularly brutal for leveraged traders. Approximately $1 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated across the crypto market as prices cratered.
