Rising oil prices spell trouble

Oil is back in charge of global markets. A renewed surge in crude prices has reignited inflation fears, pushed global bond yields higher and weighed heavily on equities, with Korean semiconductor stocks leading the selloff before weakness spread to Europe and the US. Even strong sales numbers from TSMC failed to lift sentiment, suggesting investors may now demand earnings that beat not only official expectations but also the whisper numbers.

Attention also turns to the latest US CPI report and Kevin Warsh's testimony before Congress, as markets increasingly price the risk of another Federal Reserve rate hike. Meanwhile, the stronger dollar continues to benefit from higher oil prices and rising rate expectations, while gold struggles to reclaim its safe-haven appeal in an environment of rising real yields.

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Ipek Ozkardeskaya has begun her financial career in 2010 in the structured products desk of the Swiss Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. She worked at HSBC Private Bank in Geneva in relation to high and ultra-high net worth clients. In 2012, she started as FX Strategist at Swissquote Bank. She worked as a Senior Market Analyst in London Capital Group in London and in Shanghai. She returned to Swissquote Bank as Senior Analyst in 2020, and launched her own website ipekScope.com in 2025.