Salalah Hormuz Talks Postponed at Saudi Request; Oil Jumps Over 3%, 10-Year Yield Nears 5% Two Days Before FOMC

Oman postponed Monday's planned Salalah ministerial between Iran, Iraq and GCC states (Bahrain declined to attend) without setting a new date, after Saudi Arabia objected to proposed amendments to the Iran-Oman shipping-corridor arrangement. The meeting was meant to establish a temporary joint navigation corridor through the Strait of Hormuz and a joint mine-clearance project. Oman's Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said the delay was 'in the interests of consensus,' while Iran's Foreign Ministry attributed it to 'Saudi objection' and said it would still pursue a bilateral shipping arrangement with Oman. The setback landed the same weekend Houthi forces seized Yemen's Red Sea port of Mokha and the islands of Perim and Zuqar near Bab el-Mandeb, and struck Saudi territory again. Oil futures jumped more than 3% at Monday's open — Brent to $108.23, WTI to $103.20 — and the 10-year Treasury yield touched an intraday high near 5.00%, its highest since October 2023, before easing. US equities closed only modestly lower (S&P 500 -0.35% to 7,630.34) two days before the Fed's September 15-16 decision, where hike odds held near 83-87%.