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, FRI., OCT. 9, 2026No. 5 · Morning, 6:00 a.m. SGT6 a.m. SGT
STI5,412.96▼3.49%10/8USD/SGD1.28▲0.06%10/9S&P 5007,765.36▼0.47%10/8WTI$91.49▲3.62%10/8Gold$4,156.90▲0.24%10/8
Markets · EnergyPress ✓ 6 outlets · settlement prices as reported; casualty figure from BBC and FT

Oil jumps 4% as Houthi missiles hit Saudi airports and a hurricane bears down on US Gulf output

Brent settled above US$104 a barrel overnight and Wall Street slipped. After Thursday's 3.5 per cent fall in the STI, Singapore investors face another test this morning.

Oil prices rose sharply overnight. Brent crude futures settled at US$104.28 a barrel, up US$4.08 or 4.07 per cent, and US West Texas Intermediate settled at US$91.49, up 3.64 per cent, according to settlement data reported by FinancialJuice. Bloomberg reported that Brent topped US$105 during the session, and the Guardian said prices rose on Middle East tensions and the threat of a hurricane off the US coast.

The first push came from Saudi Arabia. The Houthis in Yemen said they had attacked King Khalid airport in Riyadh with missiles, Reuters and AP reported, and Reuters said smoke was seen rising from an aircraft at the airport. The BBC and the Financial Times reported that three people were killed in Houthi attacks on Saudi airports, which the BBC called an escalation in the conflict. Reuters reported that Lufthansa and Indian airlines suspended flights to Riyadh.

The second came from the Gulf of Mexico. Bloomberg reported that Hurricane Isaias was nearing major status ahead of landfall on the US Gulf Coast, putting about 500,000 barrels a day of refining capacity at risk. Offshore producers also shut in part of their output ahead of the storm. One market service put the loss at 1.3 million barrels a day; DailyDrop has not confirmed that figure with a second outlet. The storm adds a US supply problem to the one in the Middle East, and it threatens refiners as well as oil wells, which matters for the price of fuel as much as for crude.

Washington sent mixed signals. President Trump said the US would not attack Iran before the midterm elections and described talks with Iran as productive, Reuters and the Financial Times reported. On the same day the US imposed fresh sanctions on Iran's shadow fleet of tankers, Reuters reported, while Iran vowed to block more routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters said transits there had fallen to their lowest in more than two months after attacks on tankers. The Financial Times noted that traffic had recovered to close to 90 per cent of pre-war levels last month before this latest fall.

Markets read the move as an inflation warning. Reuters reported that Wall Street slipped as higher yields and oil prices flagged inflation risk; the S&P 500 was down about 0.6 per cent late in the session. In Asia, Reuters and CNA reported that governments were racing to stockpile oil and speed up renewables, and Bloomberg said Saudi Arabia and the UAE would back a Japanese-led plan to build oil buffers in Southeast Asia.

For Singapore the link is direct. The city is a refining and oil-trading hub, and dearer crude reaches pump prices, electricity tariffs and airfares within weeks. Thursday's 3.49 per cent fall in the Straits Times Index was driven by the same inflation and interest-rate fears. Today, watch whether foreign funds keep selling the local banks, and whether Brent holds above US$100 as the hurricane makes landfall.

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By the numbers
US$104.28Brent settlement, up 4.07%
US$91.49WTI settlement, up 3.64%
3killed in Houthi attacks on Saudi airports (BBC, FT)
Singapore · EconomyPress ✓ 3 outlets · remarks as reported by CNA, ST and BT

PM Wong: no boom is forever. Singapore must seize the AI opportunity before a correction, and the right US tariff here is zero

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong told the Forbes Global CEO Conference on Thursday that Singapore must make the most of the artificial intelligence boom before it turns, CNA reported, warning that no boom is forever. He also spoke about how countries should handle the risk that powerful, autonomous AI systems go rogue.

On trade, CNA reported him saying that the right US tariff on Singapore should be zero. Singapore charges no tariffs on American goods under its free trade agreement and buys more from the US than it sells there, yet it was hit with a 10 per cent baseline tariff in April 2025. The Business Times reported that he said Singapore would deepen regional connections when it chairs ASEAN in 2027, and the Straits Times reported his pledge that the gains from the AI rollout would be shared widely.

The remarks fit the week. TSMC reported record quarterly revenue and the WTO raised its trade forecast on AI demand, while investors grow nervous about stretched valuations. Investors in Asia have been asking the same question all week: how long can AI spending carry markets? Mr Wong's answer was to use the boom while it lasts rather than bet that it will last. For workers, the test of the pledge will be concrete schemes for training and job moves, not the speech itself.

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Word of the day
CorrectionMarkets

A fall of about 10 per cent or more from a recent peak in a market or asset. It is smaller and usually shorter than a crash. PM Wong warned that the AI boom could end in one, and urged Singapore to gain what it can first.

Environment · RegionPress ✓ 4 outlets · air readings as reported by CNA

Haze keeps Singapore's air in the unhealthy range. Malaysia shuts more schools and says Indonesia has agreed to act

Air quality across most of Singapore stayed in the unhealthy range on Thursday, with PM2.5 readings high in the west, CNA reported. In Malaysia all schools in Johor were shut on 8 and 9 October, and the Straits Times reported that schools in Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Selangor would also close today.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Indonesia had agreed to take steps to tackle the haze, CNA reported. The Guardian reported that NGOs in Indonesian Borneo had filed a class action lawsuit accusing the government of gross negligence over the fires. The Straits Times said conditions in Singapore may ease today. Check the PSI before outdoor plans, including at the Grand Prix.

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TradePress ✓ 3 outlets · forecast from the WTO as reported

WTO raises its 2026 goods trade growth forecast to 3.9%, as the AI boom offsets the Middle East disruption

The World Trade Organization raised its forecast for growth in world goods trade this year to 3.9 per cent, the Straits Times reported, saying demand linked to the AI boom offset disruption from the Middle East conflict. CNA also reported the upgrade.

For Singapore, whose trade is several times the size of its economy, the forecast is welcome. AI-related demand for chips and electronics has been a main support for exports. But Bloomberg reported WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala saying world trade faces its sternest test in eight decades and that supply lines must be hardened. Growth that leans on one sector also carries risk if AI spending slows.

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Rates · United StatesPress ✓ 3 outlets · remarks as reported

Two Fed officials say more rate rises are needed. Musalem sees US rates going up over the next six to nine months

St Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said US interest rates should rise over the next six to nine months, Bloomberg reported, and that more monetary policy firming would be needed to bring inflation back to target. Fed Governor Christopher Waller said more hikes were needed but there was flexibility about the pace, Reuters and the Business Times reported.

Higher US rates lift borrowing costs worldwide and support the US dollar. In Singapore they matter for home loans priced off SORA, for bank shares and for the Singapore dollar, which MAS manages against a basket of currencies. Bloomberg reported that the oil rally whipsawed Treasuries on worries that energy costs would force the Fed to raise rates.

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In brief
  • Prima to move out of its historic Keppel Road flour mill building in 2028ST, BT
  • Trump discloses Nvidia stock trades as he prepares to honour chief executive Jensen HuangReuters, CNA
  • Starbucks explored a takeover of Chipotle, the FT reported; Chipotle shares jumpedReuters, Bloomberg
  • Amazon launches its first Android tablets, with higher prices and Alexa built inReuters, CNA
  • Yandex says it is unclear whether its data centre can be restored after a drone strikeReuters, CNA
  • Ukraine says it hit Russia's largest oil refinery, at OmskReuters, FinancialJuice
  • OpenAI's annualised revenue is US$20 billion less than previously signalled, the FT reportsFT, FinancialJuice
  • Venezuela's Maduro and his wife are charged in the US over alleged tortureReuters, Bloomberg
Seven minutes every morning, one front page — see About

Unverified — what we could not confirm

"The US is about to strike Iran." President Trump said on Thursday the US would not attack Iran before the midterm elections (Reuters, FT). Reports of imminent strikes are not confirmed.
"The haze will be gone from Friday." The Straits Times said conditions may ease today. That is a forecast, not a promise; check the PSI through the day.
"A second person has been infected from the Siberian plague lab." Russia says such reports are false (Reuters). DailyDrop could not verify either claim independently.
Glossary · dotted words — economics, law, security and science terms explained in the context of the story. The list grows every day.
INSIDEOil jumps 4% as Houthi missiles hit Saudi airports and a hurricane bears down on US Gulf outputMarkets · EnergyPM Wong: no boom is forever. Singapore must seize the AI opportunity before a correction, and the right US tariff here is zeroSingapore · EconomyHaze keeps Singapore's air in the unhealthy range. Malaysia shuts more schools and says Indonesia has agreed to actEnvironment · RegionWTO raises its 2026 goods trade growth forecast to 3.9%, as the AI boom offsets the Middle East disruptionTradeTwo Fed officials say more rate rises are needed. Musalem sees US rates going up over the next six to nine monthsRates · United States