Markets
Oil Sprints to a 5-Month High While Tech and Crypto Stumble
Oct 23, 2026, 09:58 UTC
Markets
Oct 23, 2026, 09:58 UTC
Oct 23, 2026, 09:58 UTC2 min read
Brent crude touched $115.84 on Friday, its highest level since May. Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and fears of new US strikes on Iran drove the move.
Other energy prices were mixed, Trading Economics data show:
The rally landed on markets still shaken by a tech selloff. Crypto also slipped as investors pulled back from risk.
Yemen’s Houthis said they hit Saudi energy targets, including an Aramco site in Yanbu and the Shaybah oilfield. Aramco later ordered staff out of its Dhahran headquarters on the Gulf coast.
OilPrice noted that this suggests the group can now strike well beyond its usual Red Sea targets. A pipeline shutdown in Libya also cut output at two fields.
ING analysts cited reports that Trump is weighing fresh Iran strikes as a second US carrier deploys. The bank now calls its earlier $80 fourth-quarter Brent forecast unattainable.
“If anything, re-escalation seems the most likely path. As a result, our expectation that ICE Brent would average $80/bbl over 4Q26 is looking unattainable. Even if tensions don’t re-escalate, the mere possibility is likely to keep a sizeable geopolitical risk premium embedded in prices,” the analysts said.
Still, commodity trader Jack Prandelli sees a split. He noted Dated Brent, the physical cargo price, slid from about $135 in early October to around $118.
The oil market is sending 2 different messages.Dated Brent, the price of physical cargoes, has dropped from about $135 in early October to around $118. Brent futures have gone the other way, up to about $112.The gap between them has shrunk from roughly $30 to under $10 in 3… Jack Prandelli (@jackprandelli) October 22, 2026
The oil rally arrived amid a sharp drop on Wall Street. On Thursday, the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.6% to 26,008.86, while the S&P 500 lost 1.21%.
Meta led the decline, falling nearly 7% after raising its 2026 spending floor to $135 billion.
Crypto did not escape Thursday’s selling on Wall Street. Total crypto market capitalization fell 3.74% in 24 hours to $2.76 trillion. Ethereum (ETH), XRP (XRP), and TRON (TRX) were among the major assets trading lower.
Analyst Benjamin Cowen tied that volatility back to oil.
Brent is approaching a new yearly high.Certainly causing volatility in risk assets ahead of the midterms Benjamin Cowen (@benjamincowen) October 22, 2026
Oil adds pressure through interest rates. Higher crude feeds inflation expectations and strengthens the case for tighter Fed policy.
Traders still saw about an 83% chance that the Fed holds rates at its October 27-28 meeting. Renewed energy price gains, however, could shift those odds.
Next week brings two tests. The Fed announces its rate decision on October 28, and Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet report earnings.
Whether Brent holds above $115 into those events may decide how quickly risk appetite returns.
