NEW YORK, Feb 3 — Oil and gold prices fell yesterday as concerns eased over US monetary policy and the chances of an American attack on Iran, while stock markets pushed higher.

Both main crude oil contracts shed more than 4 per cent on cooling US-Iran tensions.

“The trigger for the sharp reversal were comments from President Trump suggesting an easing of tensions with Iran,” said Trade Nation analyst David Morrison.

“This reduced fears of an immediate supply shock,” he added.

Washington has hit out at Iran’s leadership in recent weeks over its deadly response to anti-government protests, with Trump threatening military action.

He has also pushed for an agreement over Iran’s nuclear programme.

Gold, which has benefitted from safe haven trading when geopolitical tensions mount as well as the lower value of the US dollar, continued to slide lower.

“Many investors bought gold and silver as protection against the volatile geopolitical backdrop, yet they’ve learned the hard way these assets can also be volatile themselves,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

The precious metal also took a hit on news that US President Donald Trump had chosen Kevin Warsh to become chairman of the US Federal Reserve. Warsh will still need to be confirmed by lawmakers.

Traders regard Warsh, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker and Fed governor, as the toughest inflation fighter among the final candidates, raising expectations that his monetary policy would underpin the greenback.

The choice also eased concerns about the Fed’s independence following a series of attacks on incumbent Jerome Powell over his reticence to cut rates as quickly as the president wanted.

In equities trading, after a brief dip, Wall Street’s main indices turned around and closed higher.

US shares were also boosted by a survey that showed manufacturing activity expanding for the first time in 12 months in January.

European shares ended the day with solid gains, with London’s FTSE 100 striking a fresh record high.

But Asian equities markets slumped earlier in the day on tech concerns.

Seoul, which has hit multiple records this year thanks to its big tech weighting, plunged more than 5 per cent yesterday, with chip giant SK hynix shedding 8 per cent and market heavyweight Samsung off more than 6 per cent.

Tokyo, also home to several big-name tech firms, lost more than one per cent, as did Taipei, where chip giant TSMC is listed.

After a strong January fuelled by artificial intelligence bets, stocks went into reverse last week as traders resumed questioning the wisdom of the vast sums pumped into the sector and when they will see returns.

That has also raised fears of a tech bubble that could soon pop.

The latest round of selling came after Microsoft last week announced a surge in spending on AI infrastructure, reviving concerns companies could take some time before seeing a return on their investments.

Meanwhile bitcoin briefly tumbled below US$75,000 (RM300,000) to levels where it traded before the election of Trump to a second term as US president. — AFP