New York — Talk that Saudi Arabia has its sights on $80 to $100 a barrel of oil again and of more US sanctions on Russia triggered wild swings in trading of commodities on Thursday, though the potential boost to inflation hit fixed-income assets. Wall Street equity indices fell in choppy trading on a broad-based slump in tech stocks and a tumble in consumer staples, while higher bond yields supported a steady dollar. After Brent crude futures climbed past $74 a barrel overnight, the Thomson Reuters/CoreCommodity total return index opened on Thursday near its highest level since mid-2015, before giving back all its gains. The surge came on a Reuters report that oil cartel Opec’s new price hawk, Saudi Arabia, would be happy for crude to rise to $80 or even $100, a sign Riyadh will seek no changes to a supply-cut deal, even though the agreement’s original target is now within sight. After jumping nearly 3% overnight, Brent was at $74.40 a barrel, up 1.25% on the day. US crude rose 0.73...
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