diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index a32b08b..b0f7e0c 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ lto = true
 codegen-units = 1
 
 [profile.test]
+opt-level = 0
 lto = false
 codegen-units = 16
 
diff --git a/contracts/predict-iq/Cargo.toml b/contracts/predict-iq/Cargo.toml
index 2ac57ec..656b904 100644
--- a/contracts/predict-iq/Cargo.toml
+++ b/contracts/predict-iq/Cargo.toml
@@ -15,7 +15,3 @@ soroban-sdk = { workspace = true, features = ["testutils"] }
 
 [features]
 testutils = ["soroban-sdk/testutils"]
-
-[[test]]
-name = "gas_benchmark"
-path = "benches/gas_benchmark.rs"
diff --git a/contracts/predict-iq/src/modules/oracles_test.rs b/contracts/predict-iq/src/modules/oracles_test.rs
index 30bcb0a..3b2f30f 100644
--- a/contracts/predict-iq/src/modules/oracles_test.rs
+++ b/contracts/predict-iq/src/modules/oracles_test.rs
@@ -91,6 +91,22 @@ fn test_reject_stale_price() {
     assert_eq!(result, Err(ErrorCode::StalePrice));
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn test_accept_price_at_exact_staleness_boundary() {
+    let e = Env::default();
+
+    let config = test_config(&e);
+    let price = PythPrice {
+        price: 100000,
+        conf: 1000, // 1% of price - within 2% threshold
+        expo: -2,
+        publish_time: e.ledger().timestamp() as i64 - 300, // exactly 300 seconds old (max_staleness_seconds)
+    };
+
+    let result = validate_price(&e, &price, &config);
+    assert!(result.is_ok(), "Price at exact staleness boundary (age == max_staleness_seconds) should be accepted");
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn test_reject_low_confidence() {
     let e = Env::default();