Markets in the US, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan are shut on Friday for holidays.
Brent declined towards $79 a barrel. Prices have tumbled by more than 9% this week as the US-Iran interim peace deal saw shipping through the Strait of Hormuz start to return to normal, easing the global crude market’s biggest ever supply shock. Attention now shifts to talks over Tehran’s nuclear program and the durability of the ceasefire.
Earlier Thursday, Trump posted on Truth Social that “oil is flowing.” US Vice President JD Vance downplayed concerns Iran could eventually impose tolls on traffic through the vital energy waterway.Two-year Treasury yields steadied at around 4.18% on Thursday, after hitting the highest in over a year Wednesday when traders ramped up bets on future interest-rate hikes following after the Federal Reserve’s hawkish hold.
Meanwhile, 30-year US notes rallied in a sign the market believes inflation will be contained over the longer term, with yields declining three basis points to 4.9%. There is no cash trading in Treasuries during Asian hours due to the US holiday.
Meantime, the Bank of England held rates at 3.75%, saying the recent drop in oil prices was “encouraging,” even as two of the nine policymakers voted for an immediate quarter-point hike over concerns of persistent inflation.
With inputs from Bloomberg
