Breakfast Briefing | 27 May 2026 | Oil Nears Triple Digits as Middle East Strikes Resume

Renewed military action in the Middle East is reshaping the near-term outlook for energy markets, and by extension, for central bank policy globally.US and Israeli forces struck Iranian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz overnight, just hours after President Trump indicated that interim talks with Tehran were progressing. Oil markets reacted swiftly. West Texas crude rose USD 3.50 to just under USD 94/bbl; Brent is approaching USD 99.50/bbl. Prospects for any normalisation in energy pricing have faded significantly.Bond markets are also signalling stress. The US Treasury 2-year auction cleared at a median yield of 4.02%, up from 3.75% just a month ago. The US 10-year sits at 4.49%. Australia's 10-year bond yield opened at 4.93%, up 6 basis points. With oil near triple digits and yields rising on both sides of the Pacific, the path to rate relief remains narrow.Wall Street returned from its long weekend with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both closing at record highs. The Australian dollar is at 71.6 USc. Bitcoin is at USD 75,906, down 2.1% over 24 hours.Read the full briefing at interest.com.au, where you can also check the latest home loan and term deposit rates.#BreakfastBriefing #AustralianEconomy #InterestRates #RBA #interestcomau #OilPrices #MiddleEast #GlobalMarkets #Inflation #BondMarkets #FixedIncome