Gold Faces a Double-Edged Sword TestGOLD (US$/OZ)TVC:GOLDWillie_ColetteSoaring Oil Prices and Inflation Fears: The Middle East crisis has directly driven up energy prices. US crude oil opened 3% higher on Monday to $101.30 per barrel, a new high since March 9th; Brent crude closed at $112.19 per barrel on Friday, its highest since July 2022, and has risen nearly 50% since the beginning of the month. Iran's attack on a Kuwaiti oil refinery and its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz (one-fifth of the world's oil shipping route) caused European natural gas prices to surge 35% in a week. The US will deploy thousands more Marines and sailors, further exacerbating market concerns about oil supply disruptions. Inflation expectations have exploded. The US inflation swap rate rose to a six-month high of 3.3%, and the market expects the average CPI increase over the next 12 months to exceed 3%, far higher than the actual figure of 2.4% in February. The surge in energy prices is being transmitted globally through the supply chain, with Europe, which is more dependent on imported energy, experiencing particularly severe inflationary pressures. Gold, as a traditional inflation hedge, should have been shining brightly, but the "interest rate hike expectations" brought about by high oil prices have become the biggest negative factor suppressing gold prices.