Brent prices surged above $105. Yields on 30-year government bonds hit their highest level since 2004.

The price of Brent crude oil jumped to an intraday high of $106.5 per barrel on September 24, before stabilizing around $105. Meanwhile, U.S. WTI rose by more than 2% and is trading at $94.25. Oil prices have moved in tandem with Treasury yields in recent weeks, according to The Wall Street Journal. On Thursday, the yield on long-term, 30-year Treasuries rose by four basis points to reach 5.44%, its highest level since 2004, according to Bloomberg.

This came after oil futures, the day before—following the release of data showing that U.S. business activity had accelerated to its fastest pace in more than five years—had halted their decline, which had been on track to become the longest losing streak of the year. John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, speaking at an event in London on September 24, while discussing U.S. monetary policy, stated that it is “reasonable” to expect another interest rate hike this year, according to MarketWatch.

“I think this is a reasonable approach. But we’ll have to wait and see. We’ll gather data and do the same thing we did from July through September,” he said (as quoted by CNBC). Williams’s vote on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is one of the most influential, MarketWatch explains. He attributed the rate hike in September not so much to a sudden change in the data as to an assessment of how the situation had unfolded in the past.

CNBC notes that investors are also keeping a close eye on the geopolitical situation. Tensions between the U.S. and Iran remain high: Speaking Wednesday at the UN General Assembly, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused the U.S. and Israel of fomenting instability around the world: “The President of the United States called us terrorists. But it is we who have become victims of terrorism,” CNBC quotes him as saying. Pezeshkian also promised that Iran would fight back “until its last breath”: “We are ready for negotiations, but we do not accept the language of force,” the president of the Islamic Republic added.

In addition, CNBC reports, traders are reacting to reports that oil imports to Asia could reach their highest level since the start of the war—according to the analytics firm Kpler, crude oil imports to Asian countries could reach this level in September. Experts estimate that the region will import 23.96 million barrels per day this month. In August, that figure was estimated at 23.38 million barrels per day.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor