Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving markets right now.
In the energy complex, Piper Sandler is raising the alarm on crude, warning that a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz could push oil prices to new highs this summer. That call lands on a day when crude is already under pressure, trading down two dollars and sixty-two cents to ninety-three dollars and ninety-seven cents a barrel, suggesting traders are weighing near-term demand concerns against a potentially explosive supply shock on the horizon.
Meanwhile, gold is drawing serious attention in the options market. Bullish flow is building in both the SPDR Gold ETF and the VanEck Gold Miners ETF, signaling that institutional players are positioning for a sustained move higher in the metal. With the dollar index slipping below ninety-nine, the macro backdrop is giving gold bulls exactly the tailwind they need.
And in a milestone for gig economy labor, Uber and Lyft drivers in Massachusetts have become the first in the nation to certify a union, the most significant labor organizing victory in decades. The win is already drawing attention from organizers in California and Illinois, and it arrives at a particularly pointed moment, just as automation threatens to reshape the entire ride-hailing industry.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
