Overview
- Brent crude settled near $112 a barrel and WTI around $99 after fresh attacks, including a hit on Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery and extensive damage to Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG complex that Reuters said could take three to five years to repair.
- U.S. equities fell for a fourth straight week, with the S&P 500 down 1.5% on Friday and the Nasdaq and Dow sliding toward correction territory as risk-off sentiment deepened.
- Bond markets sold off as the U.S. 10-year yield climbed to about 4.38% and global benchmarks jumped, following central-bank warnings that higher energy costs raise inflation risks; Fed Governor Christopher Waller flagged a slower pace of easing.
- Energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz remain severely disrupted, with Iraq declaring force majeure on fields developed by foreign firms as crude and LNG shipping faces persistent bottlenecks.
- Geopolitical uncertainty widened after media reports that Washington is weighing action around Iran’s Kharg Island and as the U.S. prepared additional troop deployments, while triple witching and idiosyncratic corporate headlines amplified volatility.