Oil, yields spike, sentiment weak

Oil prices are soaring, inflation pressures are building and bond yields are flying. Brent crude hit $110 per barrel as Middle East tensions intensified, while US producer inflation accelerated to 5.4%, adding pressure on the Federal Reserve ahead of next week’s policy decision. Across the Atlantic, the ECB delivered a widely expected 25bp rate hike as Christine Lagarde warned that energy prices are increasing upside risks to inflation. Meanwhile, Donald Trump floated the idea of $5’000 cheques for American adults – a proposal that could potentially cost more than $1 trillion – just as concerns over US debt and fiscal discipline intensify. Treasury buybacks failed to calm the bond market, with the US 10-year yield flirting with 5%. One bright spot came from Oracle, where strong cloud growth and better-than-expected cash flow offered some relief to leveraged fears, but Nasdaq is trailing behind peers this morning, and the rest is not looking brilliant, either... Listen to find out more! Ipek Ozkardeskaya has begun her financial career in 2010 in the structured products desk of the Swiss Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. She worked at HSBC Private Bank in Geneva in relation to high and ultra-high net worth clients. In 2012, she started as FX Strategist at Swissquote Bank. She worked as a Senior Market Analyst in London Capital Group in London and in Shanghai. She returned to Swissquote Bank as Senior Analyst in 2020, and launched her own website ipekScope.com in 2025.