Brent crude rose more than 3 per cent to top $107 a barrel after Washington dismissed Tehran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to Al Jazeera's financial markets round-up. A separate report put Brent above $117 a barrel at another point in the week, a reminder that crude benchmarks and reporting times differ across outlets. What is consistent across the reporting is the direction: Hormuz tensions have pushed oil sharply higher, and that has changed the inflation and interest-rate outlook.

Gold, meanwhile, fell to a seven-week low, with silver following suit and recording a nearly 5 per cent loss, according to the same round-up. Mitrade reported gold near $4,000 after hitting a three-month low of $3,975, down nearly 4 per cent on the week as surging energy prices reinforced inflation risks. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell to a five-month low in October, from 48.1 to 48, while consumers saw inflation over the next 12 months at 4.7 per cent, well above the Federal Reserve's 2 per cent target.

Why oil is moving gold

Gold pays no interest, so it tends to suffer when higher oil prices raise inflation expectations and push central banks towards keeping rates higher for longer. That is the mechanism at work this week: West Texas Intermediate climbed over 4 per cent and back above $100, according to Mitrade, while the Houthis and Saudi Arabia exchanged fire, adding to the sour mood. Money markets had taken a rate hike off the table for the coming Fed meeting, but put the chances of a December move at 78 per cent, according to Prime Terminal data cited by Mitrade.

Other market headlines in the same round-up included the S and P 500 hitting an all-time high on bets on artificial intelligence, despite elevated oil prices and a US government debt sell-off, and a US Fed watchdog finding no criminal wrongdoing in Powell-era renovation costs. This is market reporting, not investment advice. Sources: Al Jazeera and Mitrade.