🌅 NORDFX MORNING UPDATE | Tuesday, March 31, 2026 🛢️ OIL — A HISTORIC MONTH March 2026 will go down in the history books. Brent crude has surged roughly 55% this month — a record for the contract dating back to its inception in 1988, surpassing even the Gulf War rally of September 1990. As of early Tuesday trading, WTI May futures are around $102/barrel and Brent near $111.55, pulling back slightly after reports that Trump may be willing to end US operations against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains shut. Goldman Sachs estimates a $14–18 per barrel geopolitical risk premium is currently baked into prices, with Trump's April 6 deadline for Iran to reopen the strait looming large. 🔥 🥇 GOLD — SEARCHING FOR A FLOOR Spot gold is trading at approximately $4,472/oz this morning (+0.12%), caught between a strong US dollar and persistent safe-haven demand driven by the West Asia conflict. Gold has now posted its third consecutive weekly loss — its worst streak since March 2020 — pressured by the Fed's firm no-cut stance, dollar strength, and elevated oil-driven inflation. The long-term bull case remains intact: UBS targets $6,200 by mid-2026, BNP Paribas forecasts $6,000 by year-end, seeing the pullback as a corrective clearing of positions rather than a trend reversal. 📉➡️📈 💱 FOREX — DOLLAR HOLDS FIRM EUR/USD is trading around 1.1587 in early Tuesday hours, having closed last week at 1.1510 after failing to hold the 1.1600–1.1620 zone. GBP/USD is near 1.3232, while USD/JPY sits around 159.34 — still close to the closely watched 160 level that previously triggered Bank of Japan intervention. The Fed, ECB, and Bank of England all held rates in March, with central banks flagging elevated uncertainty tied to the Middle East energy shock. 👉 Key event today: Eurozone flash CPI for March releases today — a critical data point for EUR direction and ECB April rate-hike expectations.