Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in Jordan yesterday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed, sending West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude up nearly 4% and putting bitcoin’s fragile ceasefire-driven rally back to the test.
Key Takeaways
Iran’s IRGC fired ballistic missiles at a U.S. base in Jordan on July 28, all intercepted, CENTCOM said.WTI crude jumped 3.95% to $83.08 and Brent rose 3.86% to $87.34 within hours of the strike.Bitcoin slipped toward $63,700 after the strike but subsequently recovered to $64,500.That earlier pause had already been tested given that a July 18 Iranian strike on Jordan’s Al Azraq air base killed two American service members and left a third missing, one of several flare-ups that have punctuated the five-month conflict. Jordan’s military said this time it also shot down its own share of the incoming projectiles, without reporting damage or injuries on its soil.
Oil and Equity Futures Snap BackFinancial markets reacted within hours as WTI crude climbed 3.95% to $83.08 a barrel and Brent crude, the global benchmark, gained 3.86% to $87.34. Dow Jones futures rose 63 points, or 0.12%, to 53,007, while S&P 500 futures added 26 points and Nasdaq 100 futures gained close to 133 points as traders priced in renewed Middle East risk.
The bounce partially reversed a sharp move in the opposite direction just days earlier. Oil prices had tumbled as much as 8% after the Trump administration first signaled the pause, with Brent sliding from above $100 a barrel to around $87 as mediators pursued talks over the Strait of Hormuz. The July 28 attack erased a chunk of that relief in a matter of hours, a pattern that has become familiar to traders tracking the conflict’s start-stop rhythm since February.
