Oil Hovers Close to $95 as Treasury Yields Steady Near Multiyear Highs — Update

By Joe Stonor

Oil hovered close to $95 a barrel as the U.S. and Iran exchanged fresh strikes, putting further pressure on sovereign debt though bond yields pulled back from earlier multiyear highs in European afternoon trade.

Brent crude pulled back from earlier highs after the latest round of fighting in the Middle East before President Trump said in a Truth Social post that he "couldn't care less" if Tehran signs an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Treasury yields hit fresh highs following the escalation, before pulling back in the European afternoon. Yields on 10-year Treasury notes edged 1.3 basis points lower to 4.783%, after earlier touching a near three-year high of 4.904%. Yields on 30-year Treasurys slipped 2.1 basis points to 5.255%.

Investors continue to price in a Federal Reserve rate hike at the central bank's meeting this month, placing further upward pressure on yields. The market currently sees a 63% probability of a Federal Reserve rate hike this month, according to LSEG.

Eurozone bonds continued to sell off, with 10-year German Bund yields reaching their highest since 2011 while yields on U.K. 10-year government bonds climbed to their highest level since 2007.

The extended rout coincided with the meeting of finance ministers at the G-20 summit in North Carolina, which concluded Tuesday. The rise in oil came even after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the summit that oil from the Gulf would bypass the Strait of Hormuz in two years.

Japanese government bonds remain in focus ahead of a widely expected rate hike later this month, while Japan's financial leaders pledged to keep a close eye on the yen.

In equity markets, U.S. stock futures were mixed, with Nasdaq futures edging 0.05% lower, putting the index on pace for a fourth straight down day. Tuesday was the lowest-volume trading day of 2026 for the index. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.1% and 0.25%, respectively.

Dell Technologies stock jumped around 9% in premarket trading after the group lifted its revenue targets for the fiscal year by $25 billion after market close Tuesday.

Equities in Asia and Europe largely fell, with Korea's Kospi sliding 4% as chip makers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix lost 4% and 4.6%, respectively. Premarket moves in U.S. chip stocks were muted, however, while artificial-intelligence-related hardware stocks strengthened in European trade.

The dollar edged higher as gold fell 0.3% to $4,383.60 a troy ounce--its lowest level in three weeks--with rate-hike bets continuing to reduce the appeal of nonyielding gold. Bitcoin slipped 0.8% to $76,794.83.

For the day ahead, investors are watching for the August ADP report for the U.S. and the Federal Reserve's Beige Book. Broadcom, Snowflake and Hewlett Packard report earnings after the bell.

Write to Joe Stonor at josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 02, 2026 09:07 ET (13:07 GMT)