US and Iranian negotiators readied for weekend peace talks, though tensions threatened to undermine somewhat positive rhetoric out of the White House.
US President Donald Trump said he was “optimistic” about a deal being finalized to cement an ongoing ceasefire, though he also accused Iran of still restricting access through the Strait of Hormuz, and Israel and Hezbollah continued to fire upon each other.
An Iranian strike on a Saudi oil pipeline that had been an alternate route for the kingdom to get crude to global markets, meanwhile, illustrated the economic risks surrounding the conflict, shifting focus “from episodic disruption to a measurable supply shock,” JPMorgan’s head of commodities strategy wrote in a note to clients.