Market Review September 14: Oil Shock After Attack on Saudi Pipeline and Start of the "Week of Four Central Banks"

Today, September 14, 2026, marks the start of the "week of four central banks," which global markets greet with a powerful oil shock. Over the weekend, Saudi Arabia halted the key East-West pipeline after a drone attack, sending Brent above $107.5. On Wednesday, investors face the main event of the week — the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, with the market pricing in an 87% probability of a 25 basis point hike. Additional pressure on the tech sector came from OpenAI news: the company's IPO cancellation for 2026 triggered a drop in Nasdaq futures. Against this backdrop, gold trades near $4,330, the dollar holds its ground, and Bitcoin hovers around $77,500 ahead of a key vote in the US Senate.

Oil: Saudi Pipeline Shutdown and Brent Rally

Escalation and infrastructure shutdown: Over the weekend, the Saudi East-West pipeline (capacity 7 million barrels/day), supplying the Yanbu port on the Red Sea bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, was attacked and halted. Port reserves will last only 5–7 days of exports. The situation worsened due to a tanker fire in the Strait of Hormuz and the cancellation of Iran-Gulf countries talks in Oman, sharply increasing the military risk premium in commodity prices.

Trading dynamics: Brent briefly rose above $108. Stalled diplomacy and risks of prolonged export artery shutdowns keep oil prices at their highest since May.

Indices: Futures Down, OpenAI IPO Cancelled

Futures dynamics: Nasdaq-100 futures are down 1.2%, S&P 500 -0.5%, Dow -0.1%. Last week was the worst for Dow since March (-1.6%), while S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 0.8% and 0.7% respectively. Asian markets trade mixed (Nikkei -1%, Kospi -2.5%, Hang Seng +0.35%).

AI sector events: Additional negativity in the IT sector came from Sam Altman's interview, where the OpenAI CEO announced the company postponed its 2026 IPO. Concerns about technology safety and a slowdown in the IPO pipeline reduced risk appetite in tech stocks.

Gold: Consolidation Near $4,330 Under Dollar Pressure

Counteracting factors: Gold trades around $4,330 per ounce after a third consecutive negative week. The geopolitical premium from the Middle East clashes with a strong dollar and expectations of a Fed rate hike, reducing the appeal of the non-yielding metal.

Technical levels: Key support lies in the $4,300–4,335 zone (100-day moving average). A break below this area would open the way to $4,269 and $4,200. The nearest resistance is at $4,400.

Currencies: Dollar Near 99, Yen and Aussie Weaken

USD strengthening: The DXY index holds around 98-99 amid tight rate hike expectations. The EUR/USD pair remains near 1.1600, receiving no support from the recent ECB rate increase.

Major pairs: USD/JPY returned to 154.00 ahead of the Bank of Japan meeting on Friday. The Australian dollar (AUD/USD) dropped to 0.7140 — a one-and-a-half-week low amid investor flight from commodity and risk currencies.

Crypto: Bitcoin at $77.5K Ahead of CLARITY Act

Price stabilization: Bitcoin trades in a narrow range of $77,400–77,500 (+0.5% over 24 hours), Ethereum holds $2,500, XRP — $1.38. The total crypto market capitalization stands at $2.69 trillion.

Regulatory trigger: Tomorrow, September 15, the US Senate will hold a procedural vote on the CLARITY Act bill, which regulates the crypto industry's legal framework, setting the asset's direction ahead of the Fed decision.

Weekly Events Calendar (UTC)

Summary: The oil shock intensifies inflationary pressure just before the Fed meeting on Wednesday. When trading gold, oil, and crypto, follow risk management: the total margin used for all open positions should not exceed 70% of the account margin at any time.