Gold dropped 7.2% to $4,551 in a single day, and silver fell 13.9% to $66.93. On the 20th day of the Middle East war, safe-haven assets collapsed instead of rising, as the strong dollar, inflation expectations, and liquidity tightening are redefining the meaning of "safety."
1｜Gold Plummets 7%, Silver Crashes 14%, Safe-Haven Logic Fails During War
Gold fell $310 in a single day to $4,551 per ounce (-7.2%), while silver plummeted from $77.77 to $66.93 (-13.9%). This marks the sixth consecutive trading day of declines for gold, setting the record for the longest losing streak since late 2024. The usual logic dictates that war increases safe-haven assets, but this time is different, as the strong dollar index (DXY +0.4%), rising U.S. Treasury yields, and inflation expectations driven by oil price shocks hinder the Federal Reserve's dovish outlook, causing funds to exit precious metals in favor of dollar cash. At the beginning of February, CME raised gold margins from 6% to 8% and silver from 11% to 15%, continuously squeezing leveraged longs. On the surface, gold and silver are collapsing, but the underlying cause is when inflation and war occur simultaneously, the pricing power of safe-haven assets shifts from fear to interest rates.
(Source: Fortune / CNBC / 24/7 Wall St.)
2｜Israel Strikes the World's Largest Natural Gas Field, Iran Begins Targeting Gulf Energy Facilities
Israel, in collaboration with the United States, targeted Iran's South Pars gas field. This is not an ordinary military objective, as South Pars shares the same geological structure with Qatar's North Field, which supplies 20% of global LNG. WTI crude oil has surpassed $97, and Dubai crude has broken through $150, setting all-time highs. Iran then announced a strike list, specifically naming the Saudi Aramco Samref refinery, Jubail petrochemical complex, and the UAE's Al Hosn gas field, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and Kuwait all reporting attacks. The IEA released the largest emergency reserves in history at 400 million barrels, and the U.S. added 172 million barrels to the SPR, but it had little effect on prices. The war is escalating from blocking shipping lanes to destroying production capacity, and the global energy reserve system is nearly powerless to respond.
(Source: Fortune / Al Jazeera / CNBC)
3｜The Pentagon Officially Strikes Back, Defining Anthropic's Safety Red Line as a "National Security Risk"
The Department of Defense submitted a 40-page rebuttal in a federal court in California, arguing that Anthropic may attempt to "disable its technology or alter model behavior" during "combat operations." The morning report covered a brief in support of Anthropic from 150 retired judges. Tonight’s addition is the Pentagon's official response, which redefines the ethical stance of an AI company as a supply chain risk. In the same week, the Pentagon signed contracts with OpenAI and xAI in succession. The March 24 hearing will address a previously unprecedented question: can AI vendors impose conditions for military use, or does the military have the right to demand unconditional access?
(Source: TechCrunch / Washington Examiner)
4｜Crypto.com Lays Off 12%, Crypto Industry Begins Replacing Human Labor with AI
Crypto.com announced it is cutting approximately 180 employees, making up 12% of the total workforce, with the CEO stating that positions not suited to "our new world" will be eliminated. This is not an isolated case. In the past two weeks, Block (Jack Dorsey) laid off nearly 40% of its staff and announced a full pivot to AI, while Gemini cut 25% of its workforce. On the surface, this appears to be cost optimization during an industry downturn, but fundamentally, cryptocurrency exchanges are shifting from a "hiring expansion" model to an "AI replacement + streamlining core team" model, eliminating not just marginal positions but entire middle layers. When three leading exchanges lay off staff for the same reason, it is no longer an individual company's choice, but rather a structural turnaround for the industry.
(Source: Bloomberg)
5｜U.S. Stocks Plummet for the Second Consecutive Day, Triple Pressure Tightens Simultaneously
The S&P 500 dropped to 6,588 (-0.55%), the Dow Jones fell to 45,902 (-0.70%), and the Nasdaq dropped 0.73%. European markets were hit harder, with the German DAX down 3% and the Stoxx 600 down 2.76%. Over two days, the Dow has accumulated a decline of over 1,200 points. The source of selling pressure is not a single event, but three lines tightening at the same time. A hawkish Federal Reserve (holding interest rates steady at 3.50%-3.75%, with a split of 7:7 on the dot plot) has blocked rate cut expectations. Oil price shocks (WTI $97, Dubai $150) are raising inflation expectations. The PPI at 0.7% (twice the expected rate) confirms that supply-side inflation is accelerating. On the surface, the market is falling, but at its core, the combination of three types of pressure, which usually do not arise simultaneously, is leaving funds with nowhere to find safety.
(Source: 24/7 Wall St. / Yahoo Finance)
Also Worth Knowing ↓
The Bank of Japan maintained interest rates, raising its inflation risk assessment to "upward." The BOJ identified the energy impact of the Iran war as a key uncertainty. Major global central banks opted to remain static this week (Federal Reserve, BOJ), awaiting clarity on the transmission path of oil price shocks. (Source: CNBC)
Apple's Gemini-powered Siri overhaul is targeted for release this month with iOS 26.4. Apple pays Google about $1 billion annually to use the Gemini model with 1.2 trillion parameters, integrated under a white label, meaning users will not see the Google brand. Apple's choice to forgo developing its own large model in favor of outsourcing is a signal of industrial division of labor. (Source: CNBC / TechCrunch)
U.S. gasoline prices increased by $0.80 in a month, and diesel is approaching $5 per gallon. The energy shock is transmitting from financial markets to the consumer end, and combined with Powell's statements about "inflation below expectations," the evidence chain for stagflation narratives has gained another link. (Source: NPR / AAA)
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