Commodity collective pullback, crude oil down 3%, silver plummets 7%

Trump says he will "wait and see" how the situation in Iran develops, as risk aversion eases, putting pressure on oil prices, and precious metal prices also retreat from historical highs.

According to CCTV News, on the afternoon of January 14 local time, U.S. President Trump stated at the White House regarding the situation in Iran, "We need to wait and see how the situation develops." He also pointed out that the U.S. government has received "very positive statements from Iran." WTI crude oil fell sharply, dropping more than 3% from its peak.

The precious metals market also experienced significant volatility. Silver prices plummeted by 7.3% at one point, becoming one of the worst-performing commodities of the day. Trump's decision to delay imposing new tariffs on key mineral imports led to a collective pullback in precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.

In the foreign exchange market, the South Korean won slightly weakened during Asian trading hours on Thursday, after a significant rebound the previous day when U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin mentioned that the currency was "overly depreciated." Mnuchin's remarks provided rare verbal support for the won, which is currently sliding toward its weakest level since 2009.

Brendan McKenna, a strategist at Wells Fargo in New York, stated:

Mnuchin's comments can support the won in the short term, but if the market believes that the fundamentals and political situation are still deteriorating, the market impact may be greater.

The Bank of Korea kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Thursday, in line with market expectations, and the won fell 0.2% against the dollar.

The yen is also under scrutiny. Mnuchin spoke with Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso on Thursday, noting that "excessive exchange rate fluctuations are essentially undesirable." Wall Street Journal mentioned that on Wednesday, Finance Minister Aso indicated that he does not rule out the possibility of taking any measures regarding the exchange rate.

On Thursday during the Asia-Pacific session, the dollar traded around 158.5 against the yen, rebounding 0.27% from yesterday's low.

Major market data:

Stock Market:

• The Nikkei 225 fell 0.96% from its historical high, closing at 53,820.46.

• The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia dropped 0.43%.

Currency:

• The ICE U.S. Dollar Index rebounded 0.02%, closing at 99.13.

• The euro fell 0.04% against the U.S. dollar, closing at 1.16383.
• The U.S. dollar fluctuated around 158.5 against the Japanese yen, rebounding 0.27% from yesterday's low.

Commodities

• WTI crude oil fell 3%, closing at $60 per barrel.
• Spot gold dropped 0.65%, falling below $4,600 per ounce.

• Silver prices plummeted 7.3% at one point, currently reported at $88.4