Crude was the clear story as the London day wound down. Brent (UKOil) climbed 4.12% to 101.38 and WTI (USOil) added 3.2% to 91.95 β€” the two biggest gainers across all 83 instruments, with Brent now up 7.83% on the month and 57.8% on the year.

Equities

European benchmarks closed broadly lower. The IBEX 35 led the decline, down 1.94% to 19,031.27, followed by the CAC 40 at -1.34% and the FTSE 100 at -1.31% to 10,460.30. The Euro Stoxx 50 shed 1.1% and the DAX 40 slipped 0.78% to 24,972.61. All five carried weekly losses between 2.2% and 3.84%.

Tokyo ran the other way. The Nikkei 225 rose 1.75% to 68,261.96, extending a 5.54% monthly gain and a 51.4% advance over the year. US indices were quieter into the European close, the Dow off 0.33% and the S&P 500 down 0.21%.

Currencies

The euro was soft across the board. EURUSD fell 0.73% to 1.1243, now down 1.27% on the week and 2.95% on the month. EURNOK dropped 1.68% and EURCHF fell 1.34% to 0.93375, with EURSEK and EURCAD both off more than 0.8%.

The dollar found its gains elsewhere. USDZAR rose 1.4% to 16.642, USDMXN added 1.17% and USDPLN gained 0.99%. Against the yen the greenback edged up 0.32% to 158.07, while CHFJPY climbed 0.94% to 190.28.

Metals

Gold held firm, up 0.49% to 4,176.38, though it remains down 2.56% on the week and 4.77% on the month. Silver added 0.97% to 60.97 but sits 5.2% lower over the week. Platinum rose 0.69% to 1,723.36, while palladium fell 1.69% to 1,189.05 β€” a laggard that is down 12.01% on the month.

Crypto

Bitcoin rose 1.19% to 84,542.62, holding a 9.38% monthly gain even as it sits 29.91% lower on the year. The altcoins were mixed and heavy at the bottom: Polkadot fell 4.18% to 1.169, GRTUSD dropped 4.14% and Stellar lost 3.35% to 0.21824. Tezos (XTZUSD) was the standout gainer, up 2.14%, with Litecoin close behind at +1.55% to 68.20.

The European indices remain the session’s weak spot, with crude extending its run as the London book closes.