investingLive Americas FX news wrap 9 Mar:M arkets rebound as oil slides on SPR hopes

The North American session began with a defensive tone across markets. The U.S. dollar was higher, equities were lower, Treasury yields were rising, and crude oil was sharply higher, reflecting continued caution tied to geopolitical risks in the Middle East. While all of those markets had already backed off their most extreme overnight levels, the early tone still reflected a market on edge as traders assessed the potential impact of disruptions tied to the Strait of Hormuz and broader regional tensions.

Attention quickly turned to policy discussions among G7 finance ministers, who met to address the surge in oil prices and the potential use of strategic reserves to ease supply concerns. While the meeting itself did not produce an immediate decision to release oil from strategic reserves, officials suggested that energy ministers would meet tomorrow, and there is growing expectation that a coordinated release from Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) could be approved at that time. The prospect of additional supply helped cool some of the earlier panic in energy markets, and oil prices began to retreat from their highs.

Later in the session, markets received an additional catalyst when President Trump spoke in an interview with CBS News, striking a somewhat more optimistic tone on the geopolitical situation. The President suggested that the conflict could potentially end sooner than originally feared, noting that Iran’s military capabilities had been severely degraded. He remarked that Iran currently has no functioning navy, limited communications capability, and no effective air force, and suggested that the United States was operating ahead of the previously discussed four-to-five-week timeline for resolving the conflict.

Trump also acknowledged that the U.S. could assume control of the Strait of Hormuz if necessary to ensure the continued flow of global energy supplies. In addition, he hinted that there is already a potential successor in mind for Iran’s Supreme Leader, signaling the possibility of political change in the region. On the energy front, Trump added that the administration is also considering easing sanctions on Russian oil exports in response to the recent surge in global oil prices.

Those comments helped shift the tone across financial markets. Equities reversed earlier declines and moved higher, with the technology-heavy NASDAQ leading the advance. By the close, the NASDAQ rose 1.38%, the S&P 500 gained 0.83%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.50%.

In the bond market, U.S. Treasury yields also reversed course after earlier rising on the geopolitical uncertainty. The 10-year yield fell to 4.107%, down 2.5 basis points on the day, after trading as high as 4.20% earlier in the session. The 2-year yield finished little changed at 3.556%, reflecting a market that remains cautious about the near-term interest-rate outlook.

The most dramatic move occurred in the energy market, where crude oil prices sharply reversed. After surging earlier in the session on supply concerns, oil is now trading lower by about $6, or roughly -6.5%, at $85.36, as traders reassessed the likelihood of supply disruptions and focused on the possibility of additional oil entering the market from strategic reserves.

Precious metals produced mixed results. Gold fell $34 on the day to $5,137, giving back some of its recent safe-haven gains as risk sentiment improved. Silver moved in the opposite direction, rising $2.07, or 2.44%, to $86.55, continuing to benefit from both industrial demand expectations and broader commodity strength.

In the foreign exchange market, the U.S. dollar ended the session mixed against the major currencies, reflecting the shift from early risk aversion to a more balanced tone later in the day

The USD is ending mixed with the major currencies changes vs. the USD showing: