Oil Prices Surge While Asian Share Prices Rise Moderately

Alsharq Tribune - World News 

Oil prices continued to surge on worries of a prolonged Iran war but the Asian markets that were open Friday rose moderately in cautious trading, while others were closed for the Good Friday holidays. Benchmark US crude rose 11.4% to $111.54 a barrel.

The price of Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 7.8% to $109.03 per barrel, The Associated Press said.

“A more extended conflict raises the threat to physical infrastructure, extends disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz, and will entail a longer post-war recovery period, with price impacts spilling over later into the year,” according to a report from BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions.

The US only relies on the Arabian Gulf for a fraction of the oil it imports, but oil is a commodity and prices are set in a global market. The situation is very different in Asia.

Japan, for example, relies on access to the Strait of Hormuz for much of the nation’s oil import needs and would need to rely on alternative routes. But some analysts say Japan and other nations are counting on an agreement with Iran to allow transports.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.9% in Friday morning trading to 52,938.62. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.1% to 5,344.41. The Shanghai Composite sank 0.5% to 3,899.57.

Trading was closed in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia and India. Wall Street, where trading is closed Friday, finished its first winning week since the start of the Iran war, although trading started out with a decline driven by a surge in oil prices.

That came after US President Donald Trump late Wednesday vowed the US will continue to attack Iran and failed to offer a clear timetable for ending the conflict in the Middle East.

The S&P 500 rose 7.37 points, or 0.1%, to 6,582.69. Several days of solid gains this week helped the benchmark index notch a 3.4% gain for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61.07 points, or 0.1%, to 46,504.67.

The Nasdaq composite rose 38.23 points, or 0.2%, to 21,879.18. Both indexes also notched weekly gains. Treasury yields remained relatively steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to to 4.30% from 4.32%. In currency trading, the US dollar edged up to 159.66 Japanese yen from 159.53 yen.

The euro cost $1.1535, inching down from $1.1537.