Brent jumps 4% to $113.17 as bitcoin falls alongside tech stocks
Key Facts
Brent crude jumped 4% to $113.17 a barrel in the October 22, 2026 session, according to the Associated Press, as bitcoin fell and U.S. technology stocks declined. The cryptocurrency traded at $81,714.25, down 3.15% over 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap's 15:05 UTC update. The decline followed gains in the previous session, when it was up 2.2% at $84,792.2 in the 21:38 GMT update on October 21, according to Investing.com. Bitcoin had also reversed losses during the October 20 session, rising 1.3% to $83,087.2 in the 22:25 GMT update. Thursday's decline thus followed two sessions in which the currency posted gains in evening updates, after regaining its upward momentum during Tuesday's session. Its reversal coincided with rising oil prices, while the Associated Press linked turbulence in artificial intelligence stocks to concerns about borrowing costs to finance data centers and chip purchases.
In the cryptocurrency market, total position liquidations reached about $431 million over 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data cited by CoinDesk in a morning update on October 22. The total included short and long positions as the market changed direction. About $173 million in liquidations hit short sellers during the rally that preceded the price reversal, according to the same source. Those traders suffered losses while the market was rising, before bitcoin subsequently fell, leaving price movements putting pressure on positions in both directions. Liquidations were thus spread across the rally and reversal within the daily window covered by the morning update.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 closed the October 22 session down 1.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.6%, according to the Associated Press. Technology stock losses drove the weakness in the indexes, overshadowing strength elsewhere in the U.S. market. The agency said "most U.S. stocks actually rose," despite the indexes' declines at the close. Investors meanwhile sought safety in U.S. Treasuries amid the market turbulence. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.97% on Thursday from 5.13% on Wednesday evening, October 21. The decline in yields coincided with rising oil prices and falling major stock indexes.
Against the backdrop of rising oil prices, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated that Middle East crude production outages averaged 4.8 million barrels a day in September, compared with 5.8 million barrels a day in August. Although the volume of disrupted production declined between the two months, other pressures on the cost of delivering crude to refineries persisted, according to the agency's report. It attributed part of the rise in tanker rates and pressure on delivered crude costs to higher insurance costs. It also pointed to "extremely tight diesel markets," which add upward pressure on oil prices by increasing refinery demand for crude. In its October outlook, the agency raised its forecast for the average Brent price in the fourth quarter of 2026 to $105 a barrel. That represents an increase of $14 a barrel from its estimate the previous month, raising its forecast for the final part of the year. For 2027, the agency expects Brent to fall to an average of $84 a barrel over the year.
The moves in oil, cryptocurrencies, stocks and bonds come ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on October 27 and 28, 2026, according to the Federal Reserve's official calendar. This is the next monetary policy meeting on the U.S. central bank's schedule. The Short-Term Energy Outlook follows on November 10, 2026, according to the release date announced by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The Federal Open Market Committee then holds its next meeting on December 8 and 9, 2026. The December meeting will be accompanied by the release of the Summary of Economic Projections, according to the Federal Reserve's calendar.