US crude tops $100 as Bitcoin falls under $78,000

U.S. crude climbed above $100 a barrel on Thursday as attacks on ships near the Strait of Hormuz and in the Red Sea raised supply concerns. Brent futures rose to $107.18 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate traded at $102.05, both more than 30% above early‑August lows.

Iran said it struck 10 vessels near the Strait of Hormuz after U.S. strikes on five Iranian oil tankers. Shipping through the strait remains restricted. Iran‑aligned Houthi forces seized Yemen’s port of Mocha on Thursday, and there were attacks from Yemen on Saudi energy sites.

S&P Global Energy wrote that prospects for a resolution to the Iran conflict had dimmed and that crude markets were settling into a “prolonged new normal where disruption risk is persistent, not episodic.” Simon‑Peter Massabni, head of business development at XS.com, noted attacks from Yemen on Saudi facilities widened the geographic risk to oil flows.

U.S. crude inventories fell by 391,000 barrels last week to 424.1 million barrels, a smaller draw than analysts had expected. OPEC cut its 2026 global oil‑demand growth forecast to 380,000 barrels per day, its fifth consecutive reduction, and OPEC output fell by about 640,000 bpd in August. Traders also reported increased crude purchases by China after weeks of subdued demand.

U.S. producer prices rose 0.4% in August and core PPI increased 0.2% month‑on‑month. On a 12‑month basis, producer prices climbed 5.4% in August from 4.8% in July, with energy prices accounting for the largest contribution to the monthly increase. The PPI release pushed markets to price roughly a 70% probability of a Federal Reserve rate increase at the September 15–16 meeting, up from about 62% before the report, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. A majority of economists surveyed still expect the Fed to hold rates steady.

Spot gold fell about 1.8% on the day after the PPI data. Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com, observed the PPI indicated “that there has been a bit of a pickup in underlying inflation in the U.S. economy, and a part of that is due to rising energy costs.”

Bitcoin fell for a fourth straight session, trading between roughly $76,000 and $78,500 and touching an intraday low near $76,663. The cryptocurrency is about 39% below its October 2025 peak near $126,000 and has largely traded in a $60,000–$80,000 range since February. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $166.8 million in outflows over a recent two‑day period, and crypto‑market liquidations exceeded $386 million in 24 hours. Market participants viewed $76,000 as a key support area and $80,000 as resistance.

Markets will watch next week’s Fed decision as policymakers weigh persistent inflation against growth and employment data. Disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea keep oil supply risks elevated.