Global gold demand totaled 1,269 tonnes in the second quarter of 2026, broadly unchanged from the prior quarter, the World Gold Council (WGC) said. First-half demand rose 2% year-on-year to 2,522 tonnes, valued at around USD 380 billion. Central banks’ net purchases reached 289 tonnes, while first-half bar and coin investment increased 21% and jewellery demand by value climbed 22% to USD 86 billion, according to the report. Gold ETF holdings posted a modest first-half net inflow of 18 tonnes.

Iranian officials have acknowledged major failures in the “trustee company” network used to route oil revenues outside the formal banking system, including at least one intermediary who fled without returning $200 million. Authorities have opened 59 criminal cases and asked Interpol to issue Red Notices for 15 people tied to the scheme. The network has long moved crude-sale proceeds through accounts in countries including the UAE, Turkey and Oman, and its unraveling has highlighted vulnerabilities in Iran’s repatriation chain.

Gold prices stayed under pressure and began the week hovering around $4000 an ounce. Escalating US-Iran tensions and renewed attacks on Middle East oil infrastructure and commercial vessels have lifted crude prices, reviving worries that energy-driven inflation could slow the disinflation trend. Federal Reserve officials reiterated they need more evidence of sustained price moderation before considering easing, keeping the US dollar and Treasury yields firm and weighing on non-yielding assets such as gold. Technically, gold remains in a descending channel and the near-term trend is weak.

IBM released preliminary second-quarter results showing revenue well below Wall Street expectations, as infrastructure sales fell and Z-series mainframe and related transaction-processing software revenue missed forecasts by a wide margin. CEO Arvind Krishna said the company “faltered,” citing large deals that failed to close on time and a temporary shift in customer capital spending toward scarce items such as memory and servers. IBM shares posted a historic 25% decline for the week, marking the steepest weekly drop in nearly four decades.

Dell Technologies shares have climbed 240% this year, buoyed by surging demand for AI servers, a $10 billion U.S. Department of Defense contract renewal and record quarterly revenue of $43.8 billion. President Donald Trump twice publicly urged Americans to buy Dell computers, triggering a short-lived pop in the stock. The company’s Infrastructure Solutions Group posted a 181% year-over-year revenue increase. The move has been driven mainly by fundamentals, while the president’s comments are not viewed as a standalone trading catalyst.

India and China’s central banks have been adding gold and reducing exposure to US Treasuries, with India’s gold reserves up 33.9% over three years to 881 tonnes and its Treasury holdings down 22.5% over six years to $181 billion. China’s Treasury holdings fell 12.4% over one year to $651 billion. Global central banks have bought an average of 1,000 tonnes of gold a year over the past four years—double the prior decade’s average—amid rising geopolitical risk, lessons from asset freezes and a longer-term shift toward dedollarization. Gold’s share of global central bank reserves has climbed to 27%, while US Treasuries’ share has slipped to 22%.

Donald Trump publicly praised Michael and Susan Dell while ringing the stock market’s opening bell from the White House and urged Americans to buy a Dell computer, as DELL shares rose nearly 9% intraday and finished up 4.4%. Analysts said the move was driven more by Dell’s fast-growing AI server business, highlighted by $24.4 billion in AI orders disclosed in May and a $60 billion full-year AI server revenue target. Dell also reported a 757% year-over-year increase in AI server revenue. Michael Dell’s net worth has moved into the world’s top five, surpassing Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison.

U.S. stocks came under pressure on Wednesday as AI-related shares fell, with Nvidia down 2%, Advanced Micro Devices down 4.2% and Micron Technology down 6.2%. Ongoing valuation reassessments in the AI sector helped push the Nasdaq Composite down 0.4%. The S&P 500 edged down 0.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%.

Markets are pricing in a possible easing of tensions in the Persian Gulf after Iran reportedly requested talks with the US. Brent crude rose 1.1% to $73.43 a barrel, still below its pre-war peak, while investors watched whether risks to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would ease. The report also points to gains in AI chip stocks tied to South Korea’s semiconductor investment plans and notes SpaceX’s addition to the Nasdaq 100, but says the main driver was the geopolitical shift improving oil-supply expectations.