Oil Surges on Supply Fears While Gold Falls and the Yen Strengthens

Crude oil produced the most significant move among major global benchmarks on Thursday, October 22. Oil prices rose about 4% to reach a five-month high after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia heightened supply disruption fears.

Precious metals moved in the opposite direction. During Thursday's session, gold fell more than 1%, while silver dropped about 2.6%. The sharp rally in energy revived concerns that persistent inflation will prevent central banks from lowering borrowing costs in the near term.

Those precious metal declines deepened after the regular session ended. In round-the-clock trading as of 10:25 am New York, market pricing showed silver -6.9% and gold -2.2%.

In foreign exchange, major currencies reflected shifting investor caution. On Thursday, the yen strengthened against the dollar as risk aversion and falling U.S. Treasury yields spurred demand for safety. The British pound also strengthened against the dollar as investors withdrew funds from continental European assets. In digital assets, Bitcoin +0.2% and Ethereum +0.1% held steady during Thursday's trading.

Looking ahead, several scheduled economic reports and central bank meetings will guide market conditions. On Friday, calendar releases include flash manufacturing and services survey figures alongside consumer sentiment readings from the University of Michigan. Next week brings policy decisions from several major central banks: the Federal Reserve's rate-setting committee meets October 27 to 28, the Bank of Canada announces its interest-rate decision on October 28, the European Central Bank convenes October 28 to 29, and the Bank of Japan meets October 29 to 30. In the United States, official estimates for third-quarter economic growth alongside personal income and outlays are scheduled for release on October 29.