Gold XAU/USD Draws Safe-Haven Bids as Hormuz Risk Escalates

Supertanker earnings on the Saudi-to-China route have rocketed past $647,000 a day, a figure ten times higher than a year ago, as the Iran war keeps disrupting Gulf shipping lanes. That kind of shock to global energy logistics is exactly the backdrop that historically channels flows into gold as a hedge against supply-chain and inflation risk.

With Qatar extending LNG force majeure into November and Asian spot gas prices sitting near four-year highs, input costs across major economies are climbing. XAU/USD tends to benefit when energy-driven inflation expectations rise faster than central banks can respond, and traders are watching whether this dynamic reasserts gold's role as the default hedge.

Until Hormuz transit risk eases, expect gold to stay bid on any dip as institutional desks rotate part of their energy-shock hedges into bullion.