US President Donald Trump said talks with Iran would take place on Monday, without setting a deadline for any agreement.
Trump said plans for a possible attack on Iran had been paused as efforts turned to a potential agreement.
He also referred to reopening the Strait of Hormuz and addressing Iran’s nuclear programme.
Brent crude was quoted down more than 5% at $83.33 a barrel in one market reading.
Another early reading put Brent down more than 4% at $83.88 a barrel.
The differing quotations show that the evidence captures separate intraday price snapshots rather than a single fixed market level.
At 04:37 GMT, spot gold was up 0.7% at $4,068.54 an ounce, while US gold futures were up 0.9% at $4,066.60.
Other early-session quotations placed spot gold up 0.4% at $4,055.76 and gold futures up 0.9% at $4,054.
US S&P 500 futures rose 0.5%, Nasdaq futures gained 0.8% and European futures added 0.7% in one set of early readings.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei fell nearly 2%, South Korea’s Kospi dropped more than 4%, and the MSCI Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan was down about 1%.
The yen strengthened about 0.5% to 156.47 per dollar, while the yield on 30-year US Treasury bonds fell 3.7 basis points to 5.238%.
Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said gold began the week positively but that uncertainty over the Middle East and oil markets could limit further gains.
Investors were also awaiting US labour-market data including job openings, private employment, jobless claims and non-farm payrolls.
Waterer said renewed regional tensions or stronger-than-expected US employment data could restrain gold’s advance.