Oil prices rose by more than 2%, while futures on U.S. stock indices fell at the start of trading after the weekend amid new threats from Donald Trump regarding Iran.
— Brent crude oil futures for June were up 2.2% at the time of publication, reaching $111.4 per barrel.
— Nasdaq Composite index futures fell by 0.8%. Futures on the broad S&P 500 index and blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6%.
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on April 5 to strike Iranian power plants and bridges if the Strait of Hormuz — a key route for oil and gas supplies from the Persian Gulf, which Tehran has virtually blocked since the war began on February 28 — is not unblocked. The deadline he set expires on Tuesday, April 7.
Trump's threats against Iran have alarmed some U.S. partners from the Persian Gulf countries, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources. They fear that these attacks could provoke Tehran to retaliate against their energy infrastructure. In March, when Israel struck an Iranian gas field in South Pars, Iran responded by targeting a major gas field in Qatar.
The potential escalation of the war in the Persian Gulf will exacerbate the shock in the energy market, which is facing a reduction in oil exports from the Persian Gulf and a sharp rise in prices, notes Bloomberg. The group of major oil exporters OPEC+ warned on April 5 that the damage inflicted on energy facilities in the Middle East will have a long-term impact on oil supplies even after the end of the war with Iran.
"Restoring damaged energy facilities to full capacity will require significant costs and will take a long time," OPEC+ ministers stated. According to them, any threat to the security of oil supplies — from disruptions to export routes to attacks on infrastructure — will increase volatility in the market.