Brent Crosses $97, WTI Holds $92 as Iran-US Gulf Escalation Compounds the Jobs-Driven Bond Selloff

Oil extended its rise on September 4 as the Iran-US military exchange that began September 1 — US strikes on IRGC targets near the Strait of Hormuz, followed by Iranian retaliatory missile/drone attacks on Camp Titin in Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain (Sept 2) and a second night hitting Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait and Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE (Sept 3) — kept a war-risk premium in crude. Brent crude touched $97.36/bbl and WTI held near $92.39, with Brent on track for roughly an 8% weekly gain as commodity-vessel transits through Hormuz stayed well below the pre-crisis baseline. The renewed Gulf war-risk premium compounded the same-day inflation-hawk pressure from the blowout August jobs report, reinforcing the 'higher-for-longer' bond-market narrative heading into the September 16 FOMC.