ABNA24 - Oil prices surged more than 6.5% on Thursday, with Brent crude rising above $107 a barrel after US President Donald Trump threatened to hit Iran “extremely hard”, fueling concerns about a prolonged conflict and deeper supply disruptions in West Asia.
International benchmark Brent crude traded at $108 a barrel, up 6.7% as of 0610 GMT, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate rose to $106.45, gaining 6.3%.The rally followed Trump’s remarks signaling that the war would continue, offering no clear path toward de-escalation and disappointing investors who had hoped for signs of a near-term ceasefire or diplomatic breakthrough.“We’re going to hit them extremely hard. Over the next two to three weeks. We’re going to bring them back to the Stone Age, where they belong,” Trump said.Oil markets had briefly eased earlier this week on expectations that Washington might scale back its military campaign, but sentiment reversed after Trump’s comments renewed concerns over risks to crude flows from the region, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy shipments.Trump’s remark also sent stocks retreating, with US stock futures down 1 percent while European futures sank over 1.5 percent lower.
Asian stocks were clobbered, with Japan's Nikkei down 1.8 percent and South Korea's Kospi index sliding 3.6 percent.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down over 1.5 percent, with almost all bourses in Asia in the red.The Straits Times Index fell by over 0.7 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.99 percent. "We have no additional certainty or clarity around (the) timeline from this address and this is what the market was looking for," said John Withaar, senior portfolio manager at Pictet Asset Management.
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