Failure to communicate

Elsewhere, the Bank of England met this week, holding rates steady in a 6-3 vote rather than an expected 7-2, with a third policymaker backing a hike in light of the renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities. The Bank of Japan also held rates steady, but highlighted the risk that inflation will exceed its 2% target, signalling more hikes could be coming. Ahead of the meeting, the yen surged to the 158 per dollar range after suspected government intervention. It was back around 160 on Friday after further volatility.

Looking to next week, we're getting into the dog days of summer when out-of-office messages become the norm, but markets will still have plenty to chew on, including more earnings, U.S. jobs numbers and the latest events out of the Middle East.

The next big story this week was, of course, the conflict in the Middle East. The pause in U.S. strikes early in the week sent Brent crude prices tumbling to $84 a barrel by Tuesday's close. But this drop was short-lived. A surprise attack by Iran on U.S. bases in the Middle East later on Tuesday elicited a military response from the U.S. – and a profanity-laced rebuke from President Donald Trump. The conflict also appeared to widen midweek after gas vessels in Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta were hit by a drone. Oil prices spiked almost 8% on Wednesday in response to the apparent escalation, though they were back below $90/bbl by early Friday.