Overview
- Brent crude hovered around $100 a barrel on Friday after spiking near $120 earlier in the week, with brief dips below $100 failing to restore market calm.
- Iran’s new supreme leader vowed to keep using the Strait of Hormuz as leverage and continue regional attacks, throttling tanker traffic and curbing some Gulf output.
- The International Energy Agency approved a record 400 million‑barrel stock release and the United States granted a 30‑day waiver for purchases of sanctioned Russian oil stranded at sea, moves viewed as stopgaps.
- Rate expectations flipped as the dollar strengthened and bond yields rose, with traders scaling back to roughly one Federal Reserve cut this year and money markets pricing potential European Central Bank hikes.
- India’s assets came under fresh pressure as the Sensex and Nifty fell and the rupee hit a record low, heightening inflation and external‑balance worries for a major oil importer even as one Indian tanker transited Hormuz.