Oil Prices Come Off Boil as Markets Take Light Breather

Middle East tensions remain high as markets take a light breather in the final stretch of the week.

Oil prices have come off their boil, with WTI crude down 2.7% to $89.65 and Brent crude down 2.6% to $98.05 on the day.

This drop is not significant given the week's gains, with WTI still poised for a 9% increase and Brent for an over 11% gain at current levels.

The decrease in oil prices has led to lower bond yields, with German 10-year yields down from 3.20% to 3.18% and US 10-year yields falling from 4.71% to 4.68% on the day.

This, in turn, has caused the dollar to remain marginally lower against major currencies, with EUR/USD up 0.1% to 1.1385 and USD/JPY down 0.1% but still near 40-year highs at 163.75.