Brent Crude Oil (OIL) is locked in an aggressive downward trend, trading near $72.91 on the daily chart on June 25, 2026. For everyday traders, the message flashing across the energy desk is undeniable: institutional sellers have taken complete control of the market. After violently invalidating its long-term support floors, the global benchmark is sliding fast.

International oil prices pulled back sharply, with WTI falling to US$69.14 a barrel and Brent to US$72.35, taking both benchmarks below key psychological levels. The drop comes as US-Iran talks show progress and tanker movements through the Strait of Hormuz rebound to 14 ships a day. Weak demand signals from China added pressure after May crude imports came in at 7.82 million barrels per day, the lowest since 2018 and 38% below February. ASX energy shares also retreated, with Woodside and Santos each down nearly 15% over the past month.

Gold fell below $4,000 an ounce, sliding to a low of $3,964 an ounce, its lowest level since November, while silver also came under pressure. The drop followed a stronger U.S. dollar and rising expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates high. The stronger dollar has reduced the appeal of dollar-priced precious metals for overseas investors.

New Murchison Gold Ltd (ASX: NMG) said the Mineral Resource Estimate at its Garden Gully Gold Project in Western Australia rose 47% to 359,000 ounces, with 71% classified as Measured and Indicated. The update reflects new drilling results and revised structural interpretation, including a 39,000-ounce Measured resource at the Crown Prince Open Pit deposit. The company’s update came as the gold price briefly slipped below US$4,000 per ounce and the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index fell 3.9%.

On June 24, the TSX index closed down 0.6% at 34,736.09, its lowest level since June 11. WTI crude settled 3.9% lower at $70.34 a barrel as more previously stranded tankers moved through the Strait of Hormuz, easing supply concerns. Gold fell 2.6% and copper slid 3.4% as a stronger U.S. dollar and rising expectations of Federal Reserve rate hikes weighed on commodities. The energy and materials sectors dropped 3.2% and 3.7%, respectively, dragging the broader market.

U.S. crude oil futures fell 4.2% to $70.14 a barrel, the steepest decline among major commodities in the session. Gold, silver and copper also weakened. U.S. stock indexes were broadly higher, but the energy sector dropped 1.7%. Paychex reported better-than-expected Q4 results, though it was a single-stock move rather than a cross-asset driver.

India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) said it has dismantled a gold-smuggling network operating through Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and arrested eight people, including an airport employee. Officials said nearly 6kg of 24-carat melted gold and gold dust valued at Rs 8.95 crore was seized and the accused could not produce documents showing lawful ownership or purchase. The agency said the operation involved airport insiders, a melting facility in Kalbadevi and subsequent sales in the grey market. The investigation is continuing into the source of the gold, money flows and additional suspects, the DRI said.

On June 24, Brent crude futures fell below $74 a barrel as tensions involving Iran eased and tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz resumed. International Air Transport Association data show average jet fuel prices slid from a February peak above $170 a barrel to $119.17 a barrel in the week to June 19. The drop lowers airlines’ biggest cost, but it has not fed through to ticket prices.

The United Arab Emirates has formally left OPEC, a move that reduces the group’s projected share of global crude output in 2025 from 35% to 31%. OPEC+’s share is also set to slip from 46% to 42% once the UAE is excluded. The UAE, an OPEC member since 1967 and long the bloc’s third-largest producer by capacity, is leaving amid rising geopolitical risks around the Strait of Hormuz.

Tanker chartering surged after the U.S. and Iran announced a memorandum of understanding, stoking expectations that the Strait of Hormuz could reopen and prompting importers to rush for ships to lift Persian Gulf cargoes. VLCC day rates jumped from about $106,000 to nearly $470,000, with one Persian Gulf-to-India fixture priced at 897% of the MEGIndia benchmark. Some of the largest state-owned refiners in China and India have struggled to secure supertankers because freight is too expensive and safe-passage assurances through Hormuz are lacking. Higher Middle East Gulf rates are also lifting spot freight elsewhere and adding near-term support to crude prices by raising transport costs and regional spot premiums.