Welcome to Markets Desk, your end-of-week wrap on the stories moving money.
Crude oil surged into the Friday close, with June West Texas Intermediate finishing up more than four percent at over one hundred five dollars a barrel. The catalyst was clear: stalled negotiations between Washington and Tehran are stoking fears of a prolonged disruption to global energy supplies, sending traders scrambling for cover heading into the weekend.
Shifting from energy to monetary policy, two of President Trump's nominees to the Federal Reserve board are pushing back against an arrangement that would keep Jerome Powell in the chair on a temporary basis. The central bank had indicated Powell would remain chair pro tempore until Kevin Warsh is confirmed and sworn in, a process that could happen as early as next week, but the nominees are signaling discomfort with those terms, adding another layer of uncertainty around Fed leadership.
And rounding out the commodity complex, cocoa prices fell sharply on Friday, posting one-and-a-half-week lows. After touching three-and-a-half-month highs just on Monday, the market reversed hard as the outlook for abundant global supplies reasserted itself, with New York futures down more than four percent on the session alone.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
