Ftse 100 Faces Pressure as Oil Surge Intensifies Market Volatility
European and US markets rose while several Asian indexes tumbled as oil and gas prices remained volatile amid the US–Israel conflict with Iran, rattling the ftse 100 and raising inflation concerns. Wednesday at 9: 14 a. m. ET — higher energy costs could lift the rate of inflation in the UK if oil and gas prices stay high, David Miles, committee member at the Office for Budget Responsibility, said.
Ftse 100 and UK Stocks Rise on Wednesday After Two-Day Slide
After two days of sliding share prices, the ftse 100 index and other major UK stocks rose on Wednesday, reversing some earlier losses. Last week, the ftse 100 had fallen sharply, sliding by over 5% to 10, 269. 18p as investors fled to safe havens, illustrating how quickly sentiment has shifted across sessions.
Brent Crude and US Futures Jump, Oil Above $100
Brent crude has jumped by about 12% since the US and Israel began bombing Iran, and in another market snapshot Brent rose as much as 20% while US crude oil futures surged more than 25% to $115, pushing international oil benchmarks well above $100. Experts warned that if oil and gas prices remain elevated for a sustained period, it could make goods and services more expensive; Miles said the increases were “nowhere near as large” as those after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and estimated the impact on UK prices at “maybe of 1% or so. “
Shipping Halt at Strait of Hormuz Strands About 200 Tankers
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has almost entirely halted, leaving around 200 tankers effectively stranded, Lloyd’s List Intelligence, and insurance premiums have risen significantly for vessels seen as American, British or Israeli. At the same time, Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry reported an attempted drone attack on the Ras Tanura oil refinery, and state-run QatarEnergy suspended LNG production, contributing to a benchmark UK gas price surge of over 60% since the conflict began; UK gas closed at 128p per therm by the end of trading on Wednesday, below Tuesday’s high of 170p.
For investors and consumers, the combination of halted shipping, higher insurance costs and trimmed production by major suppliers has translated into rapid swings in energy markets and sharp moves in regional stock indexes, with South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 also recording steep declines in recent sessions.
Next confirmed event: end of trading on Wednesday at 4: 00 p. m. ET, when markets will record updated close levels for the ftse 100, oil benchmarks and UK gas prices.
