Overview

• Spot gold held near $3,851 per ounce after setting an all‑time intraday high of $3,896.49, on track for a seventh straight weekly gain as markets price a near‑term U.S. rate cut and fret over a government shutdown.
• Gold is up about 2.5% so far this week and 47% year to date, with Dallas Fed President Lori Logan urging caution on further easing after last month’s cut, according to Reuters.
• Brent edged to about $64.29 and WTI to $60.67 in early Friday trade but both were heading for their steepest weekly losses since late June, with Brent down roughly 8.3% and WTI 7.6% on expectations OPEC+ may raise November output by up to 500,000 bpd.
• U.S. inventory builds and seasonal refinery maintenance added to oil’s pressure, with analysts also flagging potential Kurdish export flows as a supply wildcard.
• The UAE’s seasonally adjusted PMI rose to 54.2 in September from 53.3, with new orders at 57.2 and hiring accelerating, while Q3 market data showed net foreign equity purchases above AED 6.6 billion and year‑to‑date gains of about 13% in Dubai; Egypt cut policy rates 100 bps to 21% deposit and 22% lending as inflation eased to 12% in August.