Brent crude surges over US$120 a barrel on Iran war worries, while world stocks are mixed

Bart Melek, global head of commodity strategy at TD Securities, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss the outlook on the markets.

HONG KONG — The price of Brent crude oil briefly surged past US$126 a barrel early Thursday as stalled U.S.-Iran talks raised doubts over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a permanent end to the Iran war.

Brent crude to be delivered in June jumped 3.3 per cent to $121.90 after briefly soaring past $126 per barrel. Brent to be delivered in July rose 1.4 per cent to $112.02.

Benchmark U.S. crude climbed 1.3 per cent to $108.28 per barrel.

Before the war began in late February, Brent crude was trading around $70 per barrel.

There’s no clear path to an end to the war. The U.S. has continued its blockade of Iranian ports while the Strait of Hormuz is closed, pushing oil prices higher. Reports Thursday suggesting a possible escalation by U.S. President Donald Trump doused hopes for a quick end to the conflict.

“The breakdown of talks between the U.S. and Iran, along with President Trump reportedly rejecting Iran’s proposal for a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, has the market losing hope for any quick resumption in oil flows,” ING Bank strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a research note.

Oil prices vary depending on the type of crude oil, where it is being traded and under what terms, for futures contracts. By some measures, Brent has hit its highest level since its peak of $147.50 per barrel in 2008 during the global financial crisis.

With the war rattling world markets, the U.S. dollar fell to 160.02 Japanese yen after surging earlier Thursday to its highest level in nearly two years. It closed at 160.44 yen on Wednesday.

The dollar has gained against other major currencies partly due to its status as a safe haven for investors in times of risk, and partly because U.S. interest rates have remained relatively high as the Federal Reserve strives to balance a need to boost the economy with curbing the higher prices that partly are a result of the war.

The Fed’s decision to keep interest rates steady at its policymaking meeting Wednesday further supported the dollar. Analysts said Japanese officials will likely intervene if the yen drops much more.

The euro rose to $1.1686 from $1.1675.

U.S. futures retreated and world shares were mixed following a muted performance on Wall Street on Wednesday.

In early European trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.5 per cent to 10,259.08. France’s CAC 40 lost 1.1 per cent to 7,985.62, while Germany’s DAX traded 0.2 per cent lower at 23,896.19.

Asian stocks mostly fell. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 shed 1 per cent to 59,284.92 and the Kospi in South Korea fell 1.4 per cent to 6,598.87.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.3 per cent to 25,776.53, and the Shanghai Composite index closed 0.1 per cent higher at 4,112.16. China’s factory activity for April slowed slightly but remained in expansion territory for the second month, despite the global energy shock prompted by the Iran war, an official survey showed.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.2 per cent at 8,665.80.

Taiwan’s Taiex was 1 per cent lower and while India’s Sensex lost 0.5 per cent.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks were mixed. The benchmark S&P 500 edged down less than 0.1 per cent to 24,673.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6 per cent to 48,861.81, while the Nasdaq composite edged less than 0.1 per cent higher to 24,673.24.

Chan Ho-him, The Associated Press