Asian bond yields and crude prices resumed their climb, while regional equities were broadly lower, as U.S.-Iran talks hit a wall after President Trump rejected Iran's latest proposal for a seven-day ceasefire.
Tehran's proposal would have reopened the Strait of Hormuz and resumed nuclear talks in return for a lifting of the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. But privately, Trump was skeptical Iran would meet his demands and has told his staff that he sees a renewed bombing campaign after the November midterms as likely, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing U.S. officials.
"The rise in oil prices alongside higher long-term yields suggests markets are attaching a larger inflation risk to the global outlook," said Lloyd Chan, senior currency analyst at MUFG. He noted that yields remain materially higher in Japan, Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Japanese government bond yields rose, with the 10-year yield up 2 basis points at 3.095%. The 10-year Australian sovereign securities yield rose 4.3 basis points to 5.417%, while New Zealand's 10-year yield rose 1 basis point to 5.131%.
Oil futures jumped in early Asian trading. Front-month WTI crude oil futures rose 1.1% to $93.38 a barrel and Brent jumped 1.9% to more than $106.
"We still expect oil prices to decline, but the path lower is likely to be more gradual as the endgame of the U.S.-Iran conflict becomes increasingly difficult to predict," OCBC Group Research strategists wrote a note.
OCBC raised its end-2026 Brent forecast to $85 a barrel from $80 previously, as the risk of renewed escalation remains high.
Rising yields and a strong U.S. dollar will keep the macro backdrop challenging for gold, according to ANZ Research. Gold is under pressure from higher oil prices and strong U.S. industrial activity data reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve may need to keep rates higher for longer, ANZ Research said in a note.
Spot prices for precious metals fell, with gold slipping below $4,200 a troy ounce to last trade 2.1% lower, and silver shedding 3.7% to $61.88.
Asia-Pacific equities largely fell amid cautious sentiment.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average edged down 0.05%, erasing earlier gains, while China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.9%, and South Korea's Kospi dropped 2.6%, weighed by losses in chip stocks. Samsung Electronics shed 4.4% and SK Hynix declined 4.8%.
Hong Kong and Australia were standouts. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.7%, while the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.4% higher.
The global backdrop remains challenging for regional currencies, with external shocks testing "uneven" regional buffers, MUFG's Chan said.
"U.S. yields have risen faster than local yields across several Asian markets, widening the U.S. yield advantage and weakening relative rate support for regional currencies," Chan said.
The U.S. dollar was recently up 0.3% at 157.67 yen, and 0.3% higher at 1,357.29 won.