Gold Needed One Thing to Break $4,400. It Just Got Five of Them.

Five distinct market developments on August 17 point to the same conclusion: the policy ceiling holding gold below $4,500 is crumbling faster than most investors expected.
Zero Tankers Crossed Hormuz on Sunday. Oil Hit $89. Gold Barely Moved.

The 60-day US-Iran MOU expired this weekend with no replacement deal. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz collapsed to zero. Oil climbed. Gold held. Here is why the non-reaction is actually the most important signal in this story.
