Hourly Briefing | 2026-07-04 13:00 CST
Gold breaks above 4170, up over 1%; Micron expands Japan fab with $9B; Iran holds public farewell for Khamenei; Putin demands continued strikes on Ukraine military facilities
π Market Snapshot
- XAUUSD Spot Gold 4174.66 | +1.18% | Day High 4195.44 Low 4122.72
- USOIL WTI Crude 68.73 | +0.45% | Day High 69.23 Low 68.05
π₯ Key News This Hour
- Micron Technology officially launched the expansion of its western Japan fab, with total investment of 1.5 trillion yen (~$9B). The Japanese government will provide up to 500 billion yen in subsidies for advanced memory chip production.
- Iran held a public farewell ceremony for late Supreme Leader Khamenei, with funeral rites spanning five cities across Iran and Iraq. Trump stated Iran “very much wants a deal” and gave Iran a week off for the funeral.
- Putin visited a Russian military command post and demanded continued large-scale strikes on Ukraine’s military-industrial facilities.
- The US Independence Day parade in Washington D.C. was cancelled due to extreme heat.
- Both Qianwen and Doubao announced the shutdown of their AI agent features, effective July 10 and July 15 respectively.
π§ Market Assessment
Gold decisively broke above 4170 with an intraday gain exceeding 1%, driven by a triple layer of geopolitical safe-haven demand: heightened Middle East uncertainty during Khamenei’s funeral, Putin’s call for intensified strikes on Ukraine, and Trump’s “week off” comment suggesting a negotiation window with Iran that remains highly uncertain.
Micron’s $9B Japan expansion aligns with the trend of Samsung and SK Hynix ramping up investments β the memory chip supply chain capex cycle remains in expansion mode, with AI compute demand as the core driver.
Qianwen and Doubao both announcing agent feature shutdowns on the same day signals a wave of product retrenchment and strategic pivoting in China’s AI-to-consumer space, likely under dual pressure from tightening regulation and unclear business models.
Oil remains restrained, oscillating narrowly around 68.7, as the market digests the tension between expectations of potential Iranian crude returning to the market and the actual pace of supply developments.
β° Upcoming Key Data
- US markets closed today for Independence Day holiday; no major data releases
- Next Monday (July 7): US June ISM Services PMI