International oil prices remain high due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, Brent crude reached its highest level since June, linked to renewed military actions between the US and Iran. Investors in Asia assessed the consequences of the protracted conflict in the Middle East, while commodities sharply rose over the past week following exchanges of strikes between Washington and Tehran.
These events have heightened concerns about prolonged disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of global seaborne oil exports pass. Both Brent crude and the American benchmark West Texas Intermediate continued to rise after increasing by more than four percent at the end of last week. Brent's price exceeded $91 per barrel, the highest level since June 11th.
The latest changes occurred after another week of conflict escalation. The US conducted new strikes on Iranian targets, and Tehran responded with attacks on military facilities in the Persian Gulf region. At the beginning of Monday, a new wave of violence shook the Middle East when the US announced a new series of attacks on Iran. Kuwait reported intercepting drones, and Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed to hit the 'enemy command center' in Syria.
The Ministry of Interior of Bahrain also reported air raid sirens sounding and strongly recommended citizens and residents to move to the 'nearest safe place.' US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced late Sunday the start of the ninth consecutive day of strikes against Iran.
Disparate signals made it difficult for investors to assess market prospects. The rise in crude oil prices reignited concerns about persistent inflation, which could complicate the path to interest rate cuts. However, some analysts believe that the broader economic backdrop is becoming more favorable.
Steven Innes from SPI Asset Management noted that 'markets are once again forced to trade two seemingly contradictory stories on one screen.' He added that while rising oil prices introduced a new geopolitical risk to the markets, slowing core inflation in the US and a weakening labor market might suggest that the energy shock does not necessarily trigger a new cycle of widespread inflation. Instead, the greatest risk will arise if high oil prices persist long enough to undermine consumer spending and negatively affect economic growth.
The Asian market showed a mixed picture. Chinese stocks performed well as investors sustained recent gains anticipating that Beijing would introduce additional economic support measures following last week's economic data. Chinese markets outperformed: Hong Kong rose by more than two percent, and Shanghai by 1.32 percent. Taipei, Manila, and Singapore also gained.
Nevertheless, caution prevailed in other regions. Seoul, Sydney, and Wellington opened lower. This moderate result followed another weak session on Wall Street, where all three major indices closed lower on Friday as investors continued to pull funds from technology stocks, closely monitoring developments in the Persian Gulf. Gold slightly decreased, falling by 0.40 percent, while silver rose by 1.00 percent.
Fintech company One97 Communications is taking steps to restore its digital payment business after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revoked the license of Paytm Payments Bank. The company has applied for a Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) license, which could potentially allow it to relaunch wallet services under its own legal entity, subject to approval.
The PPI license grants companies the right to issue prepaid payment instruments, such as digital wallets. These instruments allow customers to top up their balance and use funds to pay for goods, purchases, and transfers within established regulatory norms. The Paytm wallet business effectively halted following regulatory actions against Paytm Payments Bank, although the company continued to provide UPI services in partnership with other banks but could no longer operate through its banking division.
The PPI license authorizes regulated entities to issue digital wallets and other prepaid products. Users holding such a license can typically top up a digital wallet, pay for goods from sellers both online and offline, pay utility bills, make transfers within permitted limits, and conduct daily digital transactions without using cash. It is important to note that, unlike a bank account, a prepaid wallet stores funds that the user has pre-loaded onto it.
Paytm Payments Bank was long under scrutiny by the regulator due to compliance issues. Following initial restrictions on attracting new customers, supervisory measures were tightened. In April 2026, the RBI revoked the bank's license, citing continuous violations of licensing terms and regulatory requirements. The regulator also confirmed that the bank had sufficient liquidity to repay depositors during liquidation. After these actions, Paytm focused its efforts on ensuring uninterrupted payments through UPI by collaborating with other banks. Despite the continuation of transactions for customers and merchants, the absence of the wallet business segment created a gap in the company's payment ecosystem.
If the RBI approves the PPI license, Paytm will be able to relaunch its digital wallet services, offering customers an additional payment method alongside UPI. This will also help increase user engagement within the application, strengthen the payment ecosystem for merchants, and diversify its payment business beyond bank partnerships. Approval would allow Paytm to restore a business segment that was previously a central element of its digital payment strategy. The company stated that it believes consumers benefit from having diverse payment options, and the wallet would add completeness to the consumer offering. The RBI will review Paytm's application before making a decision on issuing the license, and until then, the company will continue to operate its existing UPI-based payment services through partner banks.
Amid fluctuations in the stock market, significant changes occurred in commodity prices on Tuesday, including gold and silver. The futures price for silver on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) saw another increase, surpassing the mark of 2.20 lakh rupees per kilogram, an increase of more than 2000 rupees compared to the previous close.
This is the second consecutive day that the price of silver has shown an increase in the futures market. After a period of significant decline, the precious metal has regained momentum. Last Monday, the price of silver closed in the green zone at 2,18,400 rupees per kilogram. However, on Tuesday, when trading began, silver with a September 4 expiry sharply rose to 2,20,782 rupees.
Despite the recent rise on the MCX, the current price of silver still lags significantly behind its record level. It should be noted that at the end of January this year, the futures price for silver on the MCX first crossed the 4 lakh rupee mark, reaching a maximum of 4,20,048 rupees per kilogram. Compared to this peak value, silver is currently priced 1,99,266 rupees lower.
On Tuesday, following silver, the futures rate for gold also showed a jump. The price of 10 grams of 24-carat gold with a September 5 expiry on the MCX increased by more than 1000 rupees immediately after the market opened. On the previous business day, futures gold closed at 1,41,388 rupees per 10 grams, and it reached 1,43,90 rupees at the start of trading.
The rise in gold and silver prices continues for the second consecutive day. Analysis of the changes shows that last Friday, gold closed at 1,40,906 rupees, and over these two days, it has increased by 1484 rupees per 10 grams. As for silver, it increased by 4379 rupees per kilogram from its Friday closing price of 2,16,403 rupees.
Choosing the optimal crypto exchange for day trading is determined by several critical factors, including order execution speed, liquidity depth, fee structure, and the quality of available derivatives trading tools. Based on these criteria, a list of leading platforms for 2026 has been compiled.
Modern trading demands instant transaction processing, tight spreads, real liquidity, and tools capable of supporting decision-making. Furthermore, the importance of security and regulatory compliance is growing, necessitating the use of a reliable platform.
Each of the presented exchanges has its strengths. For instance, PrimeXBT targets day traders by offering low fees, fast execution, and access to both crypto and traditional markets through a single account. Binance stands out for having the highest global liquidity and deep order books. MEXC attracts traders with zero maker fees on spot and low taker fees. Bybit is considered the best choice for derivatives traders, boasting competitive futures fees and a matching engine with performance exceeding 100 thousand transactions per second.
OKX provides deep liquidity for institutional and high-volume derivatives trading, integrating spot, margin, futures, options, and lending. Crypto.com is positioned as the most integrated mobile application, combining trading, staking, and Visa card usage. Bitget leads in copy trading and social trading, offering grid bots and a unified margin system. KuCoin offers the widest selection of altcoins, supporting spot, futures, margin, and bots in one place. Pionex features built-in trading bots without the need for additional setup, while BingX focuses on AI-based social trading. Phemex is suitable for derivatives trading, offering a demo trading mode and enterprise-level API.
PrimeXBT, launched in 2018, has established itself as a platform focused on day trading, offering low fees (around 0.15% on spot) and support for crypto futures, Forex, and CFDs. Binance, founded in 2017, dominates in trading volume and liquidity, offering over 1600 trading pairs, with base fees around 0.10% for makers and takers.
In addition to pros such as Binance's high liquidity or MEXC's low fees, there are also cons. For example, PrimeXBT is unavailable in some jurisdictions, including the US. Binance can seem overly complex for beginners due to the abundance of features. MEXC, despite its low fees, offers very high leverage (up to 500x), which carries risks. Bybit, being based in Dubai, faces regulatory issues and experienced a major hack. OKX and Crypto.com also have limitations on feature availability depending on the user's region of residence.
