Oil Price Decline Eases Pressure on Wall Street

Oil prices declined on Friday, helping to ease pressure on Wall Street and causing US stocks to tick higher. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% early in the day, ending a three-day losing streak marked by large swings caused by rising bond yields. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 80 points, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%. Brent crude oil fell 2% to $98 a barrel.

The price of oil has been fluctuating due to uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow oil to flow freely again. The global sell-off in the bond market has added pressure to the stock market, as the yield on the US 10-year Treasury reached its highest level since 2007. The yield eased slightly to around 5.18% on Friday.

ING Bank analysts wrote that factors including elevated energy prices and inflation pressures are likely to continue to pressure US 10-year Treasury yields higher.