Crude Tops $100 and EURUSD Tests 1.16 as Yields Push Higher

Geopolitical escalation in the Persian Gulf has quickly become the primary driver across global asset classes, with military friction involving U.S. strikes on Iranian tankers pushing Brent crude past $105 and WTI over $100 [1][2]. That energy shock is already rippling through central bank policy. The European Central Bank delivered a 25 basis point rate hike to 2.50% specifically citing oil-fueled inflation [3], while U.S. producer prices accelerated to 5.4% year-over-year [4][5], keeping Treasury yields uncomfortably firm near 4.84% [6][7]. Equity markets are struggling under this stagflationary mix. Index futures and cash benchmarks are soft, led lower by…