A reinstated Hormuz blockade sent Brent crude sharply higher, but equities, bonds and the loonie priced in almost none of it, a pattern behavioural finance recognises as habituation rather than calm.

Monday's announcement of a toll on Strait of Hormuz shipping produced a bigger crude move than four rounds of military strikes did this week, while gold barely reacted. The Federal Reserve's own report to Congress last Friday explains why the two are no longer separate stories.

A fourth wave of US strikes and Iran's retaliation against Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan pushed Brent above 79 dollars Monday. Whether this is the escalation that finally sustains a Hormuz disruption or another cycle the market fades within weeks depends on data the headlines are not capturing.

As the US and Iran traded a fourth wave of strikes and Tehran declared the strait closed again, gold slid to a two week low. The move exposes which narrative investors are actually pricing.

Brent crude gained about 5 percent after simultaneous strikes on Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan, a fraction of the surge that followed the war's opening moves in February. The TSX closed the week near its highs anyway.

Iran's strikes reached Qatar and Jordan for the first time this week, yet WTI eased for a second straight day. Why the actual tail risk for Canadian energy exposure is not the headline count of countries involved, but a genuine halt in Hormuz shipping.

Twelve major asset classes moved on Wednesday, and the direction split cleanly along exposure to the conflict. Professional analysts call it a downgrade in confidence, not a resolved crisis.

Thursday's escalation was larger than Wednesday's by CENTCOM's own count, and equity futures rose anyway. The pattern has a name in behavioural finance, and it is worth naming before the Bank of Canada's July 15 decision.

A sanctions snapback that one specialist says may end the US-Iran agreement has already added more than $5 to WTI, and the Canadian portfolio question is whether this is a contained escalation or the start of the truce's collapse.

WTI is up about a percent from Monday's four week low after Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired on two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the first breach of the June 17 memorandum of understanding. The Bank of Canada's blackout for the July 15 decision started this morning, before either the attack or the market's tepid reaction to it could enter the public record.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired on two commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz hours after a one week de-escalation arrangement expired. WTI is still trading near a four month low. That gap between the event and the price is the story.

Gold fell 16 percent from its April peak as the market priced a durable calm in the Strait of Hormuz. Monday night's tanker attack is a live test of recency bias, and it will play out in client phone calls before it plays out in prices.

WTI has round-tripped back to its pre-war level, but physical flow through the strait sits at about half of pre-conflict volume, and an unresolved toll dispute is the mechanism that could reopen the gap.

US-Iran indirect talks in Doha concluded Wednesday with 'positive progress' but no breakthrough. Negotiations are now formally paused until after Khamenei's six-day funeral procession ends July 9. The pause is not a setback. It is the period during which the oil market will price the next round's probability of success.

US-Iran technical talks in Qatar wrapped Tuesday with Qatar reporting progress on the Islamabad MOU. Oil slid to $67, down 43% from its April war peak, as the toll sovereignty dispute remains open.

On June 17, the US-Iran ceasefire set the TSX all-time high and crashed oil twenty percent in the same session. June closed flat. The interior of that flat number is one of the most violent sector rotations of the year.