Brent crude oil eased to $97.33 a barrel, down 3.3%, marking its first back-to-back weekly loss since early May. This decline offered some respite to stock markets, with futures seeing a rise. Traders are proceeding cautiously heading into the next week, given the ongoing instability in the Middle East and concerns about its impact on oil prices.
Market sentiment had been rattled by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which previously pushed Brent crude above $100. Michael Hewson, a senior market analyst at iForex, expressed surprise at the resilience of markets despite the sharp increase in oil prices seen earlier in the week. The drop in oil prices potentially alleviates some of the inflation concerns that had been driving bond yields higher.
In related market movements, spot gold recorded a slight increase of 0.2% to $4,056.17 an ounce. The yield on Britain's 10-year bond declined four basis points to 4.06%.
