For months, equity markets have been able to treat higher oil prices, higher government bond yields and vast AI costs “as separate problems arriving on different days”, said Stephen Innes on Investing.com. But Wall Street is now finally on “the collision course it had spent weeks pretending would never happen”.The catalyst was the Strait of Hormuz, where the standoff between Washington and Tehran entered a dangerous new phase, pushing the price of Brent crude up by more than 10% to $85/barrel, the highest in four weeks. For investors, central bankers and governments, the spectre of an inflation shock that many had hoped was behind us has hoved back into view.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Join 350,000+ subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of
