Spot gold fell below $4,000/oz for the first time since November last year, about $1,600 below this year’s record high of $5,596/oz.

Argentina's interbank peso closed 0.61% weaker at 1,471.5 per USD, its weakest level in eight months.

Qatari PM Sheikh Mohammed said a US-Iran hotline set up during talks in Switzerland is essential to prevent “spoilers” from blocking a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz by countering misinformation and coordinating communications during sea-mine clearance. He warned actors have been sending spoofed shipping messages threatening vessels with claims such as being from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and said the hotline will let ships verify threats with Iranian authorities to transit safely. Qatar has begun preparing tankers and expects to restore normal LNG production within weeks after the parties signed a memorandum of understanding last week.