Oil Prices Soar as Central Banks Prepare for Biggest Week of the Year
The week's biggest news came from oil markets, where Brent crude surged past $108 per barrel and WTI reached its highest level in years as tensions between the US and Iran escalated.
Equities suffered as a result of rising energy costs and Treasury yields, with the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all falling for four straight sessions.
The strain was particularly evident in bond markets, where borrowing costs climbed to multi-year highs. The US 10-year Treasury yield reached 4.97%, its highest since October 2023, while UK 10-year gilt yields rose to 5.36% and UK 30-year gilt yields hit 19-year highs.
The ECB's decision to hike interest rates by 25 basis points to 2.50% added to the pressure on markets, with gold slipping to a three-week low before rebounding slightly after Friday's US CPI report.