Business
Oil surges as Iran conflict disrupts Middle Eastern supply flow – Business
Oil prices surged by as much as 13 per cent on Monday after shipping in the crucial Strait of Hormuz was disrupted by retaliatory Iranian attacks following initial bombing by Israel and the United States that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Brent crude futures rose to as much as $82.37 a barrel, the highest since January 2025, before retreating to be up $5.41, or 7.4pc, to $78.28 by 06:05.
US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed to an intraday high of $75.33, up over 12pc and the highest since June, though it later pared gains and was up $4.74, or 7.1pc, at $71.76.
Both benchmarks jumped as a sustained exchange of counterattacks damaged tankers and sharply disrupted shipments in the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway between Iran and Oman that connects the Gulf to the Arabian Sea.
On a typical day, ships carrying oil equal to about one-fifth of global demand from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, Iran, and Kuwait sail through the Strait along with tankers hauling diesel, jet fuel, and gasoline and other products from their refineries to major Asian markets, including China and India.
“Markets are acknowledging the seriousness of the conflict, but are also signalling that, for now, this is a geopolitical shock, not a systemic crisis,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior analyst at Phillip Nova.
Prolonged effective closure of the Strait would push oil prices higher and cause shortages in supply to top importers, China and India.
More than 200 vessels, including oil and liquefied gas tankers, have dropped anchor outside the Strait, shipping data showed on Sunday. Three tankers were damaged, and one seafarer was killed in attacks on Sunday in Gulf waters.
Asian economies are assessing oil stockpile availability and ways to secure alternative supply. South Korea will offer petroleum from its stockpiles to local industries if supply disruptions are prolonged, while India is exploring alternative shipping routes.
Still, prices pared gains after the steep surge in early Asian trade, which analysts attributed to buyers already factoring a risk premium into prices in anticipation of the conflict.
Brent had risen over 19pc this year until Friday’s close, while WTI was trading about 17pc higher.
Amid the conflict, Opec+ agreed on Sunday to a modest oil output boost of 206,000 barrels per day for April.
Every Opec+ producer is essentially producing at capacity except for Saudi Arabia, RBC Capital analyst Helima Croft said.
The International Energy Agency is in touch with major producers in the Middle East, director Fatih Birol said on Sunday. The energy watchdog coordinates the release of strategic petroleum reserves from developed countries during emergencies.
Globally, visible oil inventories stood at 7.827 million barrels, enough for 74 days of demand, which is near a historical median, Goldman Sachs wrote in a note.
Citi analysts expect Brent to trade between $80 and $90 a barrel this week amid the ongoing conflict.
“Our baseline view is that the Iranian leadership changes, or that the regime changes sufficiently as to stop the war within 1-2 weeks, or the US decides to de-escalate, having seen a change in leadership and set back Iran’s missiles and nuclear program over the same time frame,” Citi analysts led by Max Layton wrote.
Analysts are also warning that retail gasoline prices in the US, the world’s biggest fuel consumer, may break above $3 a gallon because of the conflict, a potentially risky result for President Donald Trump and his Republican Party ahead of the midterm elections this November.
US gasoline futures surged by as much as 9.1pc to $2.496 a gallon, their highest since July 2024, and were last at $2.381 a gallon, up 4.2pc.
After an early crash followed by a market halt, the KSE-100 benchmark index resumed trading, recovering slightly by 11am but continuing to show signs of volatility.
As trading began Monday following a weekend marred by geopolitical instability, the market crashed by over 15,000 points, causing the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) to halt trading.
According to Chief Executive Officer Topline Securities Mohammed Sohail, the “market overreacted initially amid selling by a few funds and leveraged players”.
As trading resumed around 10:30am, the index was down 12,334.88 points from its previous close of 168,062.16 points, marking a fall of 7.34 per cent.
Sohail added that after the halt, some buying was seen as investors realised the market had already fallen by 20 per cent from its recent peak and had attractive values.
By 11:07am, the market recovered more, with the index down 9,164.62 points, marking a fall of 5.45pc. However, by 1:13pm the market was trading in the red, down 15,711.19 points.
The top active stocks so far were led by K-Electric Limited, which fell 7.96pc to Rs7.05 on a volume of 93,339,778 shares, followed by Worldcall Telecom Limited, down 10.08pc to Rs1.16 with a volume of 60,661,095 shares, and The Bank of Punjab, which declined 10pc to Rs28.53.
Among the top gainers, Itanz Technologies Limited rose 10.02pc to Rs22.50, followed by Jubilee Spinning & Weaving Mills Ltd., up 10.02pc to Rs27.13, and Husein Industries Limited, which gained 9.88pc to Rs33.80.
On the losing side, LOADS Limited (Right) led the decliners, plunging 62.5pc to Rs0.15, followed by Trust Securities & Brokerage Limited (R), which dropped 48.72pc to Rs0.20, and Unicap Modaraba, down 21.12pc to Rs3.25.
The sharp plunge comes as regional geopolitical tensions spiked over the weekend as the United States and Israel on Saturday launched what they described as a “pre-emptive” joint strike against Iranian targets, with US President Donald Trump announcing the start of “major combat operations”.
The tensions have caused Brent to jump 6.4pc to $77.57 a barrel by early Monday, though it had briefly topped $82.00 at one stage, while US crude climbed 6.2pc to $71.17 per barrel.
Safe-haven gold rose 1.6pc to $5,360 an ounce on Monday.
More to follow
After an early crash followed by a market halt, the KSE-100 benchmark index resumed trading, recovering slightly by 11am but continuing to show signs of volatility.
As trading began Monday following a weekend marred by geopolitical instability, the market crashed by over 15,000 points, causing the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) to halt trading.
According to Chief Executive Officer Topline Securities Mohammed Sohail, the “market overreacted initially amid selling by a few funds and leveraged players”.
As trading resumed around 10:30am, the index was down 12,334.88 points from its previous close of 168,062.16 points, marking a fall of 7.34 per cent.
Sohail added that after the halt, some buying was seen as investors realised the market had already fallen by 20 per cent from its recent peak and had attractive values.
By 11:07am, the market recovered more, with the index down 9,164.62 points, marking a fall of 5.45pc. However, by 1:13pm the market was trading in the red, down 15,711.19 points.
The top active stocks so far were led by K-Electric Limited, which fell 7.96pc to Rs7.05 on a volume of 93,339,778 shares, followed by Worldcall Telecom Limited, down 10.08pc to Rs1.16 with a volume of 60,661,095 shares, and The Bank of Punjab, which declined 10pc to Rs28.53.
Among the top gainers, Itanz Technologies Limited rose 10.02pc to Rs22.50, followed by Jubilee Spinning & Weaving Mills Ltd., up 10.02pc to Rs27.13, and Husein Industries Limited, which gained 9.88pc to Rs33.80.
On the losing side, LOADS Limited (Right) led the decliners, plunging 62.5pc to Rs0.15, followed by Trust Securities & Brokerage Limited (R), which dropped 48.72pc to Rs0.20, and Unicap Modaraba, down 21.12pc to Rs3.25.
The sharp plunge comes as regional geopolitical tensions spiked over the weekend as the United States and Israel on Saturday launched what they described as a “pre-emptive” joint strike against Iranian targets, with US President Donald Trump announcing the start of “major combat operations”.
The tensions have caused Brent to jump 6.4pc to $77.57 a barrel by early Monday, though it had briefly topped $82.00 at one stage, while US crude climbed 6.2pc to $71.17 per barrel.
Safe-haven gold rose 1.6pc to $5,360 an ounce on Monday.
More to follow
After an early crash followed by a market halt, the KSE-100 benchmark index resumed trading, recovering slightly by 11am but continuing to show signs of volatility.
As trading began Monday following a weekend marred by geopolitical instability, the market crashed by over 15,000 points, causing the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) to halt trading.
According to Chief Executive Officer Topline Securities Mohammed Sohail, the “market overreacted initially amid selling by a few funds and leveraged players”.
As trading resumed around 10:30am, the index was down 12,334.88 points from its previous close of 168,062.16 points, marking a fall of 7.34 per cent.
Sohail added that after the halt, some buying was seen as investors realised the market had already fallen by 20 per cent from its recent peak and had attractive values.
By 11:07am, the market recovered more, with the index down 9,164.62 points, marking a fall of 5.45pc. However, by 11:45am the market was trading in the red, down 13,360 points.
The sharp plunge comes as regional geopolitical tensions spiked over the weekend as the United States and Israel on Saturday launched what they described as a “pre-emptive” joint strike against Iranian targets, with US President Donald Trump announcing the start of “major combat operations”.
The tensions have caused Brent to jump 6.4pc to $77.57 a barrel by early Monday, though it had briefly topped $82.00 at one stage, while US crude climbed 6.2pc to $71.17 per barrel.
Safe-haven gold rose 1.6pc to $5,360 an ounce on Monday.
More to follow
سعودی آرامکو کی راس تنورہ ریفائنری پر ایرانی ڈرون حملہ، آگ بھڑک اٹھی
Market jitters hit KSE-100, index down over 16,000 points – Business
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