Houthi attacks and CPI figures send markets on 14 September

Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and fresh inflation figures from the US dominate market sentiment on 14 September 2026. The Houthis seize multiple islands in the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb and Iraqi drones strike a Saudi pipeline, but President Trump’s decision not to authorise a counterattack on Iran means the oil price actually falls. Meanwhile, US CPI figures confirm a 25 basis point rate hike in September, while crypto ends the week in a narrow range.

In brief:

• Brent crude falls 3.08% to $104.32 after Trump rejects a Saudi request for retaliatory strikes on Iran
• US core inflation of 0.3% month on month confirms a 25 basis point rate hike at the September FOMC meeting
• Bitcoin holds steady around $77.000 despite a weekly outflow of $462 million from Bitcoin ETFs

Oil prices fall despite escalation in the Gulf

The Houthis seize more than five islands in the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes. At the same time, Iraqi drones strike a Saudi oil pipeline, sharply increasing concerns about supply security.

Yet Brent crude falls 3.08% to $104.32 per barrel. Trump rejects a Saudi request for retaliatory strikes on Iran, which reduces investors’ fears of escalation. Michigan inflation year on year rises to 4.6%, partly as a result of higher oil prices.

September rate hike locked in after CPI relief

US core inflation comes in at 0.3% month on month in August, slightly higher than expected. Analysts attribute this to temporary factors in the telecom and holiday sectors. Inflation in housing and medical care is cooling instead, which reassures the market about broader price pressures.

The data confirm a 25 basis point rate hike at the upcoming FOMC meeting. The yield on two-year US Treasuries falls to 4,619%, indicating that investors expect this to be a preventive step to curb further inflation. On Wednesday, the Fed publishes the so-called dot plot, which should provide more clarity on possible additional hikes in the fourth quarter. There had already been uncertainty about the impact of the FOMC meeting on crypto, as can be read in our article about cleared Ethereum long positions ahead of the FOMC.

Bitcoin stabilises, ETF flows diverge

Bitcoin trades around $77.700, up 0.5% over the past 24 hours. That is striking, because Bitcoin ETFs saw a net outflow of $462 million this week. Ethereum ETFs are attracting $197 million instead, pointing to a shift in preference among institutional investors.

Stablecoin liquidity remains stable, with USDC at $74.4 billion and USDT at $183.48 billion. SoSoValue states that these buffers and the inflow into Ethereum ETFs provide sufficient support for the market, even though geopolitical uncertainty limits further price gains for Bitcoin.

AI safety call seen as political strategy

Anthropic and OpenAI jointly call for temporarily slowing the development of self-improving AI. Elon Musk expresses his support for the call. Market participants, however, do not see this as genuine technological concern but as a strategic move to shut out competitors through regulation ahead of the US midterm elections.

This sentiment weighs on AI shares in the short term. Investors are therefore keeping their eyes on Anthropic’s upcoming IPO prospectus, which should provide more insight into its actual revenue and profitability. Incidentally, OKX already offers pre-IPO trading in OpenAI and Anthropic for European users.