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Escalating tensions in West Asia, disruptions to Gulf energy production and the sharp surge in global crude oil prices are expected to dominate investor sentiment when stock markets reopen on Monday (March 9), with analysts warning that the conflict could trigger fresh volatility across equities, currencies and commodities. \u00a0<\/p>
Catch live coverage of West Asia conflict here<\/strong><\/em><\/p> Oil prices recorded historic weekly gains on Friday (March 6) as the war in the region threatened to severely disrupt global energy supplies. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude surged 12.21%, or $9.89, to close at $90.90 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent crude rallied 8.52%, or $7.28, to settle at $92.69 per barrel. \u00a0<\/p> For the week, WTI soared 35.63% \u2014 the largest weekly gain since the futures contract began trading in 1983 \u2014 while Brent jumped about 28%, marking its biggest weekly rise since April 2020. \u00a0<\/p> Global oil prices could breach the $100 per barrel mark within days, and reach $150 a barrel by the end of the month, without a solution \u200bto the severe disruption in crude flows through the strait \u200cof Hormuz, Goldman Sachs has warned.<\/p> Gulf production disruptions add to supply fears \u00a0<\/strong><\/p> Concerns in the oil market have intensified as several Gulf producers have begun halting or scaling back oil and gas production amid escalating hostilities and the threat to critical infrastructure. \u00a0<\/p> Export facilities and processing plants across parts of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait have reportedly slowed operations or temporarily suspended some output as companies reassess security risks to workers, pipelines and export terminals. \u00a0<\/p> The disruption has raised fears that supply losses could compound the impact of shipping bottlenecks in the Strait of Hormuz \u2014 the world\u2019s most important oil transit chokepoint \u2014 through which roughly a fifth of global oil consumption normally flows. \u00a0<\/p> With tanker movements slowing dramatically and insurers raising war-risk premiums, traders are increasingly pricing in the possibility of prolonged supply disruptions. \u00a0<\/p> War rhetoric intensifies market anxiety \u00a0<\/strong><\/p> The spike in crude prices comes amid escalating military confrontation involving Iran and Israel. The situation intensified after US\u00a0President Donald Trump demanded Iran\u2019s unconditional surrender on March 6, fuelling fears that the crisis could expand into a broader regional conflict capable of severely disrupting global energy markets. \u00a0<\/p> The war has already brought tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz close to a standstill, raising concerns that exports from the Gulf\u00a0\u2014 home to some of the world\u2019s largest oil and liquefied natural gas producers \u2014 could be significantly curtailed. \u00a0<\/p> $150 oil warning <\/strong>\u00a0<\/p> Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar\u2019s energy minister, warned in an interview with the Financial Times that crude prices could surge to as high as $150 per barrel in the coming weeks if oil tankers remain unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. \u00a0<\/p> Such a spike, he cautioned, could have severe consequences for the global economy. \u00a0<\/p> \u201cThis could bring down the economies of the world,\u201d Al-Kaabi said, adding that exporters across the Gulf region may soon be forced to declare force majeure on shipments if the disruption persists. \u00a0<\/p> US\u00a0downplays long-term supply shock \u00a0<\/strong><\/p> Despite the surge in prices, Chris Wright suggested the spike reflects market anxiety rather than a structural disruption to global supply. \u00a0<\/p> Speaking on CNN, Wright said the rise in crude prices includes a significant \u201cfear premium in the marketplace.\u201d \u00a0<\/p> \u201cWe never know exactly the timeframe of this,\u201d Wright said. \u201cBut in the worst case, this is weeks, this is not a months thing.\u201d \u00a0<\/p> Earlier in the day, Wright also downplayed concerns about a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz during an appearance on Fox News<\/em>. \u00a0<\/p> \u201cOne large tanker has already gone through the straits with no issues at all. So as the general just described, we\u2019re massively attriting their ability to strike with missiles and drones, and that rate of attrition will increase in the coming days,\u201d he said. \u00a0<\/p> \u201cSo we\u2019ll be cautious. We\u2019ll be careful, but energy will flow soon,\u201d Wright added. \u00a0<\/p> Emergency measures fail to calm markets<\/strong> \u00a0<\/p> In an attempt to stabilise shipping operations, the US\u00a0government also announced a $20-billion insurance programme for oil tankers operating in the Persian Gulf to offset soaring war-risk premiums. However, the move did little to calm traders, who continue to price in the possibility of prolonged disruption to Gulf exports.<\/p> <\/div> Disclaimer: Business Today provides stock market news for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. Readers are encouraged to consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.<\/i><\/p> West Asia war oil prices, Gulf oil production halt, Strait of Hormuz disruption, Brent crude weekly gain, WTI historic surge, global oil supply shock, Iran Israel conflict oil market, Donald Trump Iran warning, Chris Wright fear premium oil, Qatar energy minister $150 oil forecast, global markets crude impact, Gulf exporters force majeure oil#Volatility #alert #Oil #shock #looms #markets #reopen #Monday #West #Asia #war #disrupting #Gulf #supplies1772991771<\/p> ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Escalating tensions in West Asia, disruptions to Gulf energy production and the sharp surge in global crude oil prices are expected to dominate investor sentiment when stock markets reopen on Monday (March 9), with analysts warning that the conflict could trigger fresh volatility across equities, currencies and commodities. \u00a0 Catch live coverage of West Asia […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[1344,5680,16454,16442,3434,16458,16460,16456,10190,16461,16453,16457,4327,358,9428,988,16459,16462,7697,13862,10146,314,1975,2182,16452,16455],"class_list":["post-4563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-content-marketing","tag-alert","tag-asia","tag-brent-crude-weekly-gain","tag-chris-wright-fear-premium-oil","tag-disrupting","tag-donald-trump-iran-warning","tag-global-markets-crude-impact","tag-global-oil-supply-shock","tag-gulf","tag-gulf-exporters-force-majeure-oil","tag-gulf-oil-production-halt","tag-iran-israel-conflict-oil-market","tag-looms","tag-markets","tag-monday","tag-oil","tag-qatar-energy-minister-150-oil-forecast","tag-reopen","tag-shock","tag-strait-of-hormuz-disruption","tag-supplies","tag-volatility","tag-war","tag-west","tag-west-asia-war-oil-prices","tag-wti-historic-surge"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}