Oil prices calm down after surge: Brent costs $112 as Trump threatens Iran

Oil prices calmed down today after surging last night, helping to stabilize stock markets from Asia to Europe to New York's Wall Street.

Stock yields are rising for several reasons, most notably oil prices. The United States' (US) war with Iran has trapped many oil tankers in the Persian Gulf instead of delivering crude oil to customers around the world, which in turn has pushed up the price of crude oil.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude, the international benchmark, hit as high as $112 overnight after US President Donald Trump told Iran on his social media platform on Sunday that "the clock is ticking and they better get going, FAST, or there will be nothing left of them."

But prices later calmed down, continuing the up-and-down trend seen since the beginning of that war, with hopes that the two sides would reach an agreement to resume the flow of oil.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude fell to $107,84, still up 1,3% from Friday, but still well above the pre-war price of around $70.

That drop in oil prices helped lift stock markets that had not yet closed, with France's CAC 40 index falling from a 1,2% loss to a 0,3% gain. By then, Japan's Nikkei 225 had already finished down 1,0% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 1,1%.

The S&P 500 index fell 0,1% in early trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 64 points, or 0,1%, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 0,1% and remained near its record high set last week, like the S&P 500.

The focus of recent events has been on global bond markets, where rising yields have added pressure on economies and stock markets around the world. Higher yields make borrowing more expensive for households and businesses, a fact that U.S. homebuyers are well aware of due to higher mortgage interest rates.

Higher interest rates could also make it harder for companies to borrow to build huge data centers for artificial intelligence technology, which has been driving much of the growth of the U.S. economy.

Stock yields around the world are rising on fears that higher inflation driven by rising oil prices could force central banks not only to abandon the idea of ​​cutting interest rates but also to consider raising them. Higher rates would slow inflation, but at the cost of hurting the economy and driving down the prices of stocks and other investments.