Oil prices jump on escalating tensions in the Middle East
Economy
Oil prices jumped on Friday while Asian markets tumbled, with global investors worrying about an escalation in conflict in the Middle East after explosions were reported near the Iranian city of Isfahan. This was reported by CNN.
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US crude futures rose 2.1% to trade at $84.5 per barrel during Asian morning trading hours. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was up 2%.
Gold prices jumped higher as traders rushed to safe-haven assets, with futures briefly up 1% to trade at $2,422.4 per ounce during Asian hours.
The price of bitcoin, meanwhile, dropped below $60,000 on Friday morning, as appetite for risky assets waned. It pared some of those losses by Friday noon to trade at $62,406, but was still down 2% from the previous session.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 2.6%. South Korea’s Kospi lost 2.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.3%. China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.4%.
But shares in oil suppliers surged, bucking the weak market trend.
In Hong Kong, PetroChina, Asia’s largest oil and gas supplier, advanced 2.3%. CNOOC, China’s largest producer of offshore crude, climbed 2.8%. Sinopec, the world’s largest oil refining company by capacity, rose 1.3%.
In Tokyo, refiner Cosmo Energy was up 1.5%. Energy giant Eneos Corp. added 0.7%. In Seoul, S-Oil Corp rose 2.1%.
Today Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official told CNN, a move that threatens to push the region deeper into conflict. The Israeli military said they “don’t have a comment at this time,” when asked by CNN about reports of explosions in Iran.
Gold prices jumped higher as traders rushed to safe-haven assets, with futures briefly up 1% to trade at $2,422.4 per ounce during Asian hours.
The price of bitcoin, meanwhile, dropped below $60,000 on Friday morning, as appetite for risky assets waned. It pared some of those losses by Friday noon to trade at $62,406, but was still down 2% from the previous session.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 2.6%. South Korea’s Kospi lost 2.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.3%. China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.4%.
But shares in oil suppliers surged, bucking the weak market trend.
In Hong Kong, PetroChina, Asia’s largest oil and gas supplier, advanced 2.3%. CNOOC, China’s largest producer of offshore crude, climbed 2.8%. Sinopec, the world’s largest oil refining company by capacity, rose 1.3%.
In Tokyo, refiner Cosmo Energy was up 1.5%. Energy giant Eneos Corp. added 0.7%. In Seoul, S-Oil Corp rose 2.1%.
Today Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official told CNN, a move that threatens to push the region deeper into conflict. The Israeli military said they “don’t have a comment at this time,” when asked by CNN about reports of explosions in Iran.
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