The long-running energy rivalry between the US, China, and Russia became visible again with the steps taken over the weekend. However, looking at what happened on Saturday only through Venezuela would miss the bigger picture. Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, which makes it a strategic center in global energy dynamics. For this reason, the issue is not just a regional political development, but a question of who controls oil and how that control shapes global energy, trade, and financial balances. For the US, the goal is to prevent China and Russia from becoming permanent players in a region it considers its sphere of influence. For China, the issue is reducing dependence on US-controlled systems and the dollar for energy supply. Russia, meanwhile, sees Venezuela less as an economic opportunity and more as a strategic pressure tool against the US. What we are witnessing is therefore not a local political crisis, but part of a broader confrontation driven by oil, trade routes, and financial power. Markets reacted clearly to this picture. The week started strong. Gold is at $4,418/oz. Once again, gold stands out not as a classic inflation hedge, but as a safe asset against system risk. As uncertainty around energy supply, trade routes, and payment systems increases, demand for gold strengthens as a protection response. This supports prices holding at high levels rather than sharp pullbacks.

Palladium is at $1,661, while platinum trades at $2,215. The strong performance in platinum suggests that energy transition and supply constraints are being priced together with geopolitical risk. Silver stands at $75.26/oz. Due to its strong link to industry, it is priced more cautiously than gold in the short term, but limited supply and persistent geopolitical risks continue to support it. When gold remains strong, moves in silver are usually delayed but sharper.

Pricing in precious metals reflects not short-term news flow, but tension in global power balances. As long as the bigger picture shaped by oil, energy routes, and financial control remains unchanged, the key market question will remain not “how much can I gain,” but “which asset can stay resilient in this uncertain environment?”

And what will be the cost of that resilience?