In Asia morning trade, the price of oil spiked and stocks fell in response to US President Donald Trump’s speech, which failed to reassure global markets that the war was any closer to ending and that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would return to normal.
As soon as Trump finished speaking, the price of Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 5% to $106 a barrel. Stock markets in Asia also began to slide.
Although Trump reiterated his two to three week timeline, he offered no concrete update to investors on just how exactly this war would end.
His promise to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages” if it didn’t agree to a deal certainly won’t have reassured markets. Even if the conflict did end this month, it would still take considerable time for normal levels of shipping to resume through the Strait of Hormuz.