US stocks, gold prices plunge as crude futures surge after Trump announces blockade of Strait of Hormuz

U.S. stocks and global gold prices plummeted while crude futures surged after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the U.S. Navy would begin blocking ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz, after peace talks with Iran failed to produce a deal.

U.S. stocks market reacted strongly to his announcement, with futures of Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index nosediving by over 1 percent.

Meanwhile, global gold prices also tumbled. June gold futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell below 4,700 U.S. dollars per ounce, with losses at one point exceeding 2 percent.

The oil prices, on the contrary, rose significantly. As of 6:50 a.m. Beijing time on Monday, the West Texas Intermediate futures for May delivery soared 8.13 percent to settle at 104.42 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude futures for June delivery increased 7.52 percent to settle at 102.36 U.S. dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

U.S. media reported that the failure of Iran-U.S. peace talks concerns the market, as the war could last longer than expected, which will further push up the oil prices and put more pressure on global economy.

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 3 pips to 6.8657 against the U.S. dollar Monday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

The central parity rate of the yuan against the U.S. dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.