Bitcoin rebounds as crypto markets shake off early pressure from oil and Fed bets

Oil prices are doing that thing again where they make everyone nervous at exactly the wrong time. Brent crude surged nearly 2.25% to $99.18 per barrel on Monday, its highest level since late July, dragging US equities lower as investors braced for a consumer price index report later this week that suddenly feels a lot more consequential. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped roughly 519 points, or 0.97%, settling around 52,895. The S&P 500 fell 0.30%, while the Nasdaq Composite barely budged, slipping just 0.06%. What’s driving the oil spike Escalating tensions between the US and Iran are the primary catalyst. Attacks on Saudi energy facilities and broader hostilities across the Middle East have injected fresh supply-disruption risk into a market that was already watching crude prices creep higher through the summer. Analysts are flagging diesel and refined products as particular pain points. Unlike gasoline, which gets most of the headline attention, diesel is the lifeblood of commercial freight and agriculture. When diesel prices spike, it’s the kind of inflationary pressure that’s hard for the Federal Reserve to ignore, and even harder for consumers to avoid. The timing c...