According to CoinMeta, oil prices remained stable near their high levels, while gold prices stayed flat despite relatively light news flow from the Middle East. On Monday, U.S. strikes against Iranian rocket launchers and subsequent Iranian retaliation drove up crude oil prices. President Trump vowed a strong response to Iran's retaliation. Additionally, Saudi VLCC operations were suspended after being hit in the Strait of Hormuz, continuing the pattern of incidents involving oil tankers in that waterway. U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned due to tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Gold prices changed little below $4,450 per ounce, alongside a recent rise in bond yields. In terms of economic data, a survey of China's private sector manufacturing showed that in August, China's manufacturing PMI rose from 50.9 in July to 51.5, marking the ninth consecutive month of expansion, which is expected to have a positive impact on the Australian dollar. Manufacturing PMI in Japan and South Korea also showed signs of improvement.