Gold tests $4,000 as Dollar lifts and Brent jumps above $94.50

The price action in gold has seen the metal fall perilously close to breaking below the $4,000 per ounce handle this afternoon. It has come as oil prices jump on some rather negative headlines concerning the situation in Iran and Gas supplies between that country and Russia. 

So, Brent for January delivery lurched higher in the past 15 minutes and reached $94.73 a short while ago. The impact of that was not lost on Gold, due to the ofttimes inverse correlation between the two commodities. Hence, Gold which was falling back anyway due to the higher dollar and most especially the higher USD/JPY, traded as low as $4,001.05. That low was seemingly delivered by stops being tripped below the low seen yesterday, at $4,013.70. 

It has steadied a bit since and clearly that $4,000 seems to have found some buyers close. In addition Brent is also paring its earlier gains and drifting back towards $94, which is helping Gold to steady just now, albeit at lower levels. The metal is right now at $4,004.50