Oil jumps above $90 as US-Iran strikes escalate
Asian shares were mostly higher on Monday, but South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index fell nearly 5% as investors continued to unload stocks linked to artificial intelligence, according to the Associated Press.
The Kospi’s decline extended a selloff in AI-linked stocks that has periodically hit South Korea’s market in recent months. Two of the index’s most valuable stocks booked losses, the AP reported. Japan’s stock markets were closed for a holiday. U.S. futures were mixed.
Oil prices surged as the conflict between the United States and Iran intensified. The U.S. announced more attacks for a ninth straight night, and Iran has been responding to U.S. strikes by hitting U.S. allies across the Middle East, the AP reported.
Brent crude, the international standard, rose 2.6% to $90.40 per barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude climbed 2.2% to $83.58 per barrel.
“The U.S. and Iran continue to exchange strikes, which are proving to be deadly for both sides,” ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a commentary Monday. “If this escalation goes unchecked, we could return to an environment of wide-scale attacks across the Persian Gulf.”
Tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global oil transport, has nearly ground to a halt, adding to pressures on supplies, the strategists noted.