Oil prices soar amid worries of sustained war in Iran
The widening conflict in Iran is shaking financial and energy markets worldwide as tankers in a key shipping corridor are targeted and oil prices begin to soar, threatening to escalate the affordability crunch facing U.S. voters.
Major stock indexes recovered midday after a heavy morning of losses. Around 1:30 p.m. Eastern time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was slightly in the red and effectively flat. The S&P 500 index also was flat.
The Nasdaq tipped into the green, rising 0.3 percent. Airline stocks continued to sag as thousands of flights were canceled around the globe.
Shares of American Airlines were down 4 percent, Delta Air Lines nearly 2.5 percent, and United Airlines roughly 3 percent. Investors continued to reach for safe havens. Gold prices, Treasury yields and U.S. dollar all rose in telltale signs of mounting investor uncertainty.
Meanwhile, oil up about 6 percent by midafternoon. Diesel prices soared even higher, up 14 percent. Analysts said that will probably result in diesel price hikes at the pump this week of more than 20 cents per gallon.
The size of the economic fallout hinges on how long fighting persists and whether there is any political or military stability in Iran in its aftermath, analysts say.
The key risk for the global economy — and President Donald Trump’s political fortunes at home — is a sustained disruption of shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 15 percent of the world’s oil and 20 percent of its liquefied natural gas passes. [Continue reading…]
Only one in four Americans approves of the U.S. strikes that killed Iran’s leader, while about half — including one in four Republicans — believe President Donald Trump is too willing to use military force, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that concluded on Sunday.
Some 27% of respondents said they approved of the strikes, while 43% disapproved and 29% were not sure. About nine in 10 respondents said they had heard at least a little about the strikes, which began early on Saturday. [Continue reading…]