Middle East geopolitical tensions — centred on US-Iran conflict concerns, Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure, and potential Strait of Hormuz disruptions — drove Brent crude to a near six-month high of $116.72/bbl (+3.1%) and WTI to $103.27/bbl (+3.8%) on Friday, injecting a sharp inflationary impulse into global risk sentiment. This week's triple central bank gauntlet — Fed (Oct 28/29), ECB (Oct 29), and BoJ (Oct 30) — is expected to deliver hawkish holds, but energy-driven CPI risks are elevating market pricing of December tightening across developed markets, with euro-area headline inflation running at 3.8% and US PCE data in focus. The VIX rose 2.21% to 19.45 while the Nikkei VIX surged 6.34% to 38.25, signalling a meaningful pickup in Japanese equity stress; US Treasuries, however, rallied sharply with the 2-year yield falling 16bp to 4.65% and the 10-year dropping 17bp to 4.96%, suggesting simultaneous safe-haven bond demand alongside commodity-driven inflation fears. Gold fell 1.29% to $4,007.90/oz — an unusual divergence from crude that points to USD strength (DXY +0.20% to 101.81) as the dominant safe-haven channel rather than precious metals. Cross-asset signals heading into Monday's US open are conflicted: energy and cybersecurity names provide pockets of strength, but broad equity weakness (-0.52% S&P 500, -1.23% DJIA), a communication services and consumer staples rout, and rising volatility suggest risk-off positioning is the dominant tone. Investors will be watching whether early Asian oil price easing on de-escalation hopes translates into a more constructive pre-market tone, or whether the weight of the Fed decision, elevated yields above 4.96% on the 10-year, and a heavy earnings calendar sustain selling pressure into the open.