Brent Settles at $116.72; Iran Warns U.S. Warships Out of the Gulf
Markets are closed for the weekend; Wall Street reopens Monday at 9:30 a.m. ET (4:30 p.m. in Istanbul). What will shape the open came from Tehran on Saturday.
Iran's chief of general staff, Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi, said U.S. warships will not be allowed into the Persian Gulf. "We will under no circumstances and at no time allow US military vessels to enter the Persian Gulf."
The Revolutionary Guards also said Iran retains full control of the Strait of Hormuz. They claimed two supertankers carrying over 4.5 million barrels hit mines on an unauthorized southern route; this is unverified.
Signals from Washington are mixed. Ambassador Tom Barrack said Friday a weekend strike was possible; Trump said he knew nothing about it. At a Florida rally the same day, Trump warned of a new operation against Iran if no deal is reached.
Before these statements, Brent settled Friday up 3.1% at $116.72, and WTI rose 3.8% to $103.27. Oil ignored Trump's Thursday move to invoke the Defense Production Act for refining capacity. The weekend news is not yet priced.
On Friday (October 23), selling moved from tech to the Dow. The Dow-tracking DIA fell 1.24%, SPY 0.52% and the fund , while the -tracking was flat at +0.06%. deepened losses, falling 3.7% after announcing plans to cut about 5% of its workforce.
