Oil Surges, Asia Under Pressure
World oil prices surged again at the start of the week after tensions in the Middle East escalated. Brent rose to over US$91 per barrel, its highest level since June 11, after attacks between the United States and Iran spread across the Gulf region.
The oil surge occurred as the market worried that the US-Iran conflict could disrupt global energy supplies. The latest attacks reportedly targeted not only military targets, but also key areas in Iran and energy facilities in Kuwait.
At the same time, the US dollar strengthened against most major currencies. Demand for the dollar increased as investors sought safer assets amid geopolitical uncertainty.
Pressure was also felt in Asian stock markets. Investor sentiment had already weakened due to a selloff in global technology stocks, particularly after semiconductor stocks entered a bear market. Concerns arose as the market began to question whether heavy spending on artificial intelligence, or AI, could continue to sustain growth.
Chip stocks also came under pressure after Chinese AI company Moonshot released a new model, raising concerns about US technological dominance. This situation has led investors in Asia to adopt a more defensive stance. As a market impact, rising oil prices have the potential to increase inflationary pressures and make central banks more cautious about interest rates. Gold actually weakened below US$4,000 per troy ounce as expectations of higher interest rates re-emerged, while Asian stock markets risk remaining under pressure from the combination of a strong dollar, expensive oil, and weakening technology stocks. (asd)*
Source: Newsmaker.id
