Chain, Crude & Chips: October 12, 2026
Oil, bitcoin and AI chips in three short updates.
Chain, Crude & Chips · Monday, October 12, 2026 · 5:00 PM ET
Crude: Brent settles at $106.65
Brent rose 1.8% to settle at $106.65 a barrel, the AP reported, and Reuters had it above $106 in the afternoon, the highest in almost two weeks, after the weekend strikes on Riyadh's airport. AFP quoted Saxo UK strategist Neil Wilson calling efforts to secure a Russia-Ukraine energy truce "muddy" and the US deal to buy some Russian diesel "a drop in the ocean." See our oil story and the ceasefire update.
Chain: bitcoin holds above $83,000
Bitcoin traded between roughly $83,200 and $84,300 on Monday, touching $84,000 early before easing (CoinDesk, Crypto Times, Exa), after dipping toward $80,300 last Thursday. CoinDesk said U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs had $681 million of outflows last week, the largest weekly withdrawal since June (SoSoValue data). Analysts cited $82,000 as key support and U.S. inflation data this week as the next catalyst (CoinDesk). Levels differ a little by source and time. Earlier: bitcoin story.
Chips: another down day
The Philadelphia semiconductor index fell more than 2% during the session and was headed for a fourth straight decline (Reuters, MarketWatch via Stocks Down Under). Micron fell 3.9%, AMD 2.3%, Broadcom 1.9% and Nvidia 1.3% at the close (AP). Worries about AI spending, including the Financial Times report on OpenAI revenue, are weighing; see our OpenAI story. ASML reports Wednesday and TSMC Thursday. Tonight's Dusk Ledger has the full close.