Oil prices rose more than 5 per cent after US President Donald Trump issued a fresh warning to Iran to progress peace talks aimed at ending the regional conflict that’s choking off global energy supplies.
With attacks continuing in countries across West Asia, Brent rose to $107.8 a barrel as of 9:00 pm IST, as West Texas Intermediate traded around $94.16 around the same time. The US leader warned Iran to get serious about discussions “before it is too late,” after the White House insisted that peace talks are ongoing. Tehran has rejected US overtures and issued its own conditions.
The contradictory signals from both sides left markets on edge. On Wall Street, the main indices dropped following gains in the previous session.
As of 8:50 pm IST the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 75.50 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 46,342.69, the S&P 500 fell 43.59 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 6,547.14 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 216.95 points, or 1.02 per cent, to 21,705.16.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.64 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei ended down 0.3 per cent, while worries over rising energy costs hammered South Korea’s Kospi, which slumped 3.2 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.9 per cent and China’s blue chips dropped 1.3 per cent.
Gold slips as mkts assess Iran peace prospects
Global gold prices retreated on Thursday, hurt by a firmer dollar and higher oil prices that kept inflation fears intact and sustained expectations of elevated interest rates, while market participants reconsidered the chances of a West Asia ceasefire.Spot gold was down 1.2 per cent at $4,450.64 per ounce by 9:26 am ET (1326 GMT) after falling 2 per cent earlier. US gold futures for April delivery lost 2.3 per cent to $4,447.60.
