GLOBAL OIL PRICES SOAR AFTER ISRAEL ATTACKS IRAN

Global oil prices have surged after Israel launched an attack on Iran’s nuclear program, in a dramatic escalation of tensions in the Middle East. The price of the benchmark Brent crude was up by more than 10% shortly after the news emerged, reaching its highest level since January. Traders are concerned that a conflict between Iran and Israel could disrupt supplies coming from the energy rich region. The price of crude oil influences a wide range of expenses; from what you pay at the gas pump to the cost of groceries at the store.

 After the initial jump, oil prices eased a little bit. Brent crude oil was still about 8% higher than Thursday’s closing price trading at about $74.65 a barrel. Despite Friday’s moves, oil prices are still more than 10% lower than where they were at the same point last year. They are also well below the peaks seen in March 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when the price of crude oil soared well above $100 a barrel. The increase hit the aviation industry, as airlines cleared the airspace over the region, and investors turned to safe investment assets such as gold and the Swiss franc.

Share prices fell across Asia and Europe on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei share Index ended the day down by 0.9%, South Korea’s Kospi falling by 1.1% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropping by  0.8% while the UK’s FTSE 100 index was down by 0.3 percent. The price of gold was trading about 1 percent higher at $3,417, close to the record high of $3,500 it hit in April. Israel, which said its attack was a pre emptive strike over Iran’s nuclear program, has declared a state of emergency as its military said Tehran had launched 100 drones in retaliation.