Surging oil prices driven by stalled Iran talks and ship seizures near the Strait of Hormuz lifted Brent crude above $109 per barrel and WTI near $105 on Friday 15 May, intensifying inflation concerns and pushing the 30-year US Treasury yield above 5.1% for the first time since 2007. Markets are now pricing higher odds of central-bank tightening as energy costs feed into broader price pressures. European equities mirrored the global risk-off move with the Euro Stoxx 50 falling 0.57% and DAX dropping 2.07%, while the ECB highlighted upside inflation risks from energy prices without pre-committing to any rate path; cross-asset flows saw gold decline 2.61% to $4555.80 per ounce and the DXY rise 0.39% to 99.27 as investors rotated out of risk assets into higher-yielding government bonds.