Risk markets were trading lower again on Friday morning after U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to cancel any chance of reaching some kind of negotiated solution with Iran.
“There will be no deal with Iran short of unconditional surrender,” the president said in a Truth Society post.
The news pushed WTI crude to multi-year highs near $90 a barrel, with Nasdaq futures falling 1.8%. This also hit cryptocurrency prices, pushing Bitcoin to a new intraday low, down 5% to $68,800.
Economic weakness
U.S. payrolls unexpectedly fell by 92,000 jobs in February, underscoring a cooling U.S. labor market, while rising oil prices and geopolitical tensions further complicate the Fed’s outlook. The unemployment rate also rose to 4.4% from 4.3% last month.
The weak report adds to a hiring slowdown that has been unfolding over the past year.
“Let me rephrase this: The U.S. economy has lost jobs since April 2025,” economist Heather Long wrote on X. “Total employment increased by -19,000 jobs from May 2025 to February 2026. Faced with all this headwinds and uncertainty, businesses are not hiring.”
Normally, data like this would keep the Fed busy cutting interest rates, but the central bank continues to face inflation that remains above its 2% target, and a sharp rise in oil prices threatens to worsen the price outlook.
Currently, interest rate traders Keep betting An immediate rate cut is unlikely. The probability of a rate cut in March is only 4%, and the probability of a rate cut in April is only 17%.