Friday 11 September 2026 07:30 UTC
Middle East Shipping Threats Push Oil and Bond Yields Higher
In the 24 hours ending 11 September at 07:30 UTC, attacks threatened two major Middle East shipping routes.
Four projectiles struck two ships near Oman, close to the Strait of Hormuz entrance. One ship caught fire. The condition of the second ship remained unclear.
Donald Trump, the US president, said America controlled the Strait of Hormuz. He claimed US forces destroyed 22 boats overnight. He also said the war could continue until after November’s US elections.
Houthi forces strengthened their control of Mocha, a key Yemeni port city. They also advanced toward Dhubab and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Control there could further disrupt global shipping and Saudi oil exports.
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Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, asked Trump twice for US strikes against the Houthis. Trump refused direct military involvement. However, about 100 US advisers were providing intelligence and targeting information to Saudi forces.
Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s foreign minister, discussed de-escalation with Asim Munir, Pakistan’s army chief. They considered renewed diplomacy and efforts to reduce Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.
Iran resumed limited production of ballistic missiles at underground sites. Damaged factories and restricted supplies kept production below earlier levels. Existing parts could still support at least several hundred missiles.
Israel destroyed a large Hezbollah underground complex in southern Lebanon. The two-kilometre site contained command centres, drones, missiles, rockets and living areas.
Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery and distribution centre in Russia’s Saratov region. The attacks caused major fires and stopped local e-commerce deliveries.
Britain, Norway and the United States disrupted a Russian undersea exercise near Svalbard earlier this year. Russian vessels simulated deploying a weapon designed to disable subsea cables. No cables suffered damage.
The European Central Bank raised interest rates by 0.25 percentage points. It cited stronger inflation pressure from the Middle East conflict. The bank raised its inflation forecasts for the next two years.
Brent crude rose above $107 a barrel before easing below that level. US diesel prices approached or exceeded $6 a gallon. Low supplies and regional disruption increased fears of renewed inflation.
US government borrowing costs also climbed sharply. The 30-year Treasury yield reached 5.34%, its highest level since June 2007.
US producer prices rose 5.4% over the year to August. Existing-home sales fell 2% during the month.
Trump promised $5,000 payments to every American adult citizen if Republicans retain Congress. The plan could cost about $1.2 trillion. It lacked funding details and would need congressional approval.
France’s central bank rejected a proposal to cancel 18% of national debt. Emmanuel Moulin, the bank’s governor, called the plan illegal and dangerous. He warned that it could increase inflation and interest rates.
China rejected claims that its artificial intelligence laboratories targeted Anthropic’s Claude system. Beijing called the accusation false and described it as a smear attack.
OpenAI launched ChatGPT for Financial Services, aimed at investment bankers and researchers. The service combines financial data with tools for research, models and client documents.