Rising Middle East tensions have caused oil prices to soar; during Asian morning trading, US oil futures rose 2.1% to trade at $84.5 a barrel.
Israel’s strike inside Iran was confirmed by the US, raising the possibility of further escalation in the region’s conflict.
Regarding allegations of explosions in Iran, the Israeli military has stated that they “don’t have a comment at this time”. According to ANZ analysts, Israel’s move may ultimately decide whether or not oil supplies are in danger.
With the US and Mexico slapping sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry, which could impede its exports, there are still a lot of other continuing energy problems.
As investors flocked to safe-haven assets, gold prices surged. During Asian hours, futures temporarily increased 1% to trade at $2,422.4 per ounce.
Although it recovered some of its losses by Friday midday to trade at $62,406, the price of bitcoin fell below $60,000 on Friday morning. Despite this, it was still down 2% from the previous session.
The largest oil and gas supplier in Asia, PetroChina, saw a 2.3% increase in Hong Kong’s share price, while Sinopec and CNOOC, China’s largest offshore crude producer, saw a 1.3% increase.
Eneos Corp. increased by 0.7% in Tokyo, Refiner Cosmo Energy increased by 2.1% in Seoul, and S-Oil Corp.
This could send oil prices to the sky.
