RBC backs gold as Hormuz shipping risks rattle markets

What Brokers Say Energy Written by: Ian Lyall 15:00 Thu 03 Sep 2026 --> Edited by: Jamie Ashcroft Disclaimer No investment advice About this content Editorial Standards & Policies Share article About this content × About Ian Lyall Ian Lyall, a seasoned journalist and editor, brings over three decades of experience to his role as Managing Editor at Proactive. Overseeing Proactive's editorial and broadcast operations across six offices on three continents, Ian is responsible for quality control, editorial policy, and content production. He directs the creation of 50,000 pieces of real-time news, feature articles, and filmed interviews annually. Prior to Proactive, Ian helped lead the business output at the Daily... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the world’s key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. Chevron Corporation ( NYSE:CVX XETRA:CHV ) View Price & Profile RBC backs gold as Hormuz shipping risks rattle markets Published: 15:00 03 Sep 2026 BST Gold faced a reality check from RBC Capital Markets on Thursday, as the Canadian bank flagged near-term consumer headwinds but stopped well short of a bearish call. RBC Capital Markets maintained its constructive outlook on gold, even as elevated United States 10-year Treasury yields raised the metal's opportunity cost to its highest level since 2023. The bank highlighted durable central bank interest alongside rising exchange-traded product holdings as key structural supports that are difficult to offset entirely. That official demand is further bolstered by ongoing gold repatriation amid rising geopolitical tensions. While the Indian Prime Minister's appeal to curb gold spending could reduce demand, the national secretary of the Indian Bullion and Jewelry Association estimated September imports would decline by 15%. Separately in the oil market, RBC noted that 71% of commodity vessels navigating the Strait of Hormuz went dark in August as geopolitical risks mounted. This shift to dark transits marks a sharp reversal from the earlier memorandum-of-understanding period, when they had fallen to roughly 45%. The broker also warned that at least 19 seafarers have been killed since the start of the war, which is drastically reducing crew availability for the dangerous route. Regarding natural gas, renewed strikes in the Strait of Hormuz continue to keep Qatari supply on the sidelines. However, the global market is simultaneously reckoning with a new wave of United States export capacity that is building to further fill that supply gap. Turning to Latin America, the broker projects only a modest upward trend for Venezuelan crude, forecasting increases of around 110,000 and 245,000 barrels per day in 2026 and 2027, respectively. This comes after Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX, XETRA:CHV) pledged $7 billion in investment over five years to double its joint venture production to 600,000 barrels per day. Simultaneously, Eni SpA recently began drilling operations in the Junin 5 block to support the revival effort. Nevertheless, RBC warned that tens of billions in new investment over a decade would be required to return to the production levels seen in the early 2000s. Looming over the energy transition is a recent United States executive order targeting Chinese grid equipment, which is expected to cause near-term delays for battery storage projects. Despite those regulatory hurdles, past investments in domestic manufacturing may ultimately allow the storage boom to persist, with American battery cell capacity expected to reach 140 gigawatts by 2027. Continue reading