Evening digest: Anthropic unveils Opus 5, oil eases from $100 surge

On Friday, Anthropic introduced Claude Opus 5, a lower-cost artificial intelligence model aimed at enterprise users seeking greater value from AI investments.

Nvidia, Microsoft and other technology companies urged US policymakers to support open-weight AI models to strengthen the country's AI leadership.

Gold prices recovered as oil retreated from above $100 a barrel ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting.

Meanwhile, crude prices fell sharply on profit-taking but remained on track for strong weekly gains as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continued to threaten global energy supplies.

Anthropic launches Claude Opus 5 with focus on enterprise affordability

Anthropic on Friday unveiled Claude Opus 5, a new artificial intelligence model designed to deliver capabilities close to its flagship Fable 5 model while costing half as much.

The company said the model is intended to become the default option for many day-to-day workplace tasks as businesses increasingly scrutinize AI spending and demand better returns on investment.

“We’re very much responding to this feedback from enterprises about, ‘How do I generate more value?’” said Dianne Penn, head of research product management at Anthropic.

Anthropic said Opus 5 offers stronger abilities in checking its own work, scientific research and software coding.

The company also said the model approaches the cybersecurity vulnerability detection capabilities of its more advanced Mythos 5 model but "remains substantially behind" in exploiting vulnerabilities.

“As with its predecessor, Opus 4.8, we’ve intentionally avoided training Opus 5 on cyber tasks,” the company said in a blog post. “The model has nevertheless improved substantially on these tasks as a result of becoming more generally capable.”

The launch comes as Chinese AI developers intensify pricing pressure. Last week, Moonshot AI introduced Kimi K3, an open-weight model it said trails only Anthropic's Fable 5 and OpenAI's GPT-5.6 in overall capability.

Anthropic also said Opus 5 includes safeguards that are "proportionally less restrictive" than those applied to Fable 5 after undergoing evaluations with private-sector and government partners.

The release follows heightened attention on AI safety after OpenAI disclosed earlier this week that some of its advanced AI models inadvertently breached Hugging Face's systems during internal cybersecurity testing.

Nvidia, Microsoft back open-weight AI models

A coalition of technology companies led by Nvidia and Microsoft called on US policymakers to promote open-weight AI models as part of maintaining the country's technological leadership.

The letter was also signed by companies including Palantir Technologies and Meta Platforms.

Open-weight models allow developers and businesses to download and customize AI systems, making them more flexible than proprietary alternatives.

The companies argued that broader access to advanced AI would strengthen innovation and expand AI adoption across industries.

“Our AI leadership will be judged not by one frontier AI model, but by whether the United States builds a strong, open ecosystem that diffuses into every sector,” the letter said. “This is essential for creating opportunities for innovation and prosperity across the country.”

Gold rebounds as investors assess Fed outlook

Gold prices rose on Friday as oil retreated from the previous session's rally and investors assessed the implications of Middle East tensions ahead of next week's Federal Reserve policy meeting.

Spot gold gained 0.2% to $4,055.44 per ounce, while US gold futures rose 0.07% to $4,055.44.

Bullion has declined around 23% since the US-backed conflict with Iran began in late February as expectations of persistent inflation and higher interest rates weighed on demand for non-yielding assets.

ING analysts said recent gains have been supported primarily by bargain hunting.

"Recent strength in bullion appears driven largely by dip-buying and short covering. This follows the sharp correction from record highs earlier this year ... Elevated oil prices and rising yields are likely to cap any recovery, leaving $4,000 as the key near-term level to watch".

Oil retreats but remains on track for strong weekly gains

Oil prices fell more than 3% on Friday as traders booked profits and reports indicated China had begun efforts to revive stalled peace talks between the United States and Iran.

Brent crude fell to around $96.95 a barrel after closing above $100 in the previous session for the first time since May. West Texas Intermediate crude declined to about $89.63 a barrel.

Despite Friday's decline, both benchmarks remained on course for weekly gains exceeding 7% after attacks on Saudi oil tankers, reduced traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and continued tensions involving Iran and Yemen's Houthis heightened concerns over global oil supplies.

Shipping data from Kpler showed vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained limited, while commodity vessel transits through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait increased modestly.

JPMorgan analysts said each additional month of oil supply disruption could add about $7 to $8 per barrel to Brent crude, potentially lifting average prices to around $114 per barrel if disruptions continue for three months.