NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices leapt and stocks plunged Friday on worries that escalating violence following Israel’s attack on Iranian nuclear and military targets could damage the flow of crude around the world, along with the global economy.
The strongest action was in the oil market, where the price of a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude jumped 7.3% to $72.98, returning to where it was earlier this year. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 7% to $74.23 for a barrel.
Iran is one of the world’s major producers of oil, though sanctions by Western countries have limited its sales. If a wider war erupts, it could slow the flow of Iran’s oil to its customers and keep the price of crude and gasoline higher for everyone worldwide.
But past attacks involving Iran and Israel have seen prices for oil spike initially, only to fall later “once it became clear that the situation was not escalating and there was no impact on oil supply,” according to Richard Joswick, head of near-term oil at S&P Global Commodity Insights.
That has Wall Street waiting to see what will come next. U.S. stock prices dropped to their lowest points for the day as Iran’s state-run news site said Iran launched ballistic missiles towards Israel.
For now, the price of oil has jumped, but it’s still lower than it was earlier this year. “This is an economic shock that nobody really needs, but it is one that seems more like a shock to sentiment than to the fundamentals of the economy,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management.
They helped overshadow gains for U.S. oil producers and other companies that could benefit from increased fighting between Israel and Iran.
Often, prices for Treasury bonds will likewise rise when investors are feeling nervous. That’s because U.S. government bonds have historically been seen as some of the safest options around. But Treasury prices fell Friday, which in turn pushed up their yields, in part because of worries that a spike in oil prices could drive inflation higher.
That sent the yield on the 10-year Treasury up to 4.42% from 4.36% late Thursday. Higher yields can tug down on prices for stocks and other investments, while making it more expensive for U.S. companies and households to borrow money.
A report on Friday suggesting an unexpectedly large increase in sentiment among U.S. consumers also helped drive yields higher. The preliminary report from the University of Michigan said sentiment improved for the first time in six months after Trump put many of his tariffs on pause, while U.S. consumers’ expectations for coming inflation eased.
In stock markets abroad, indexes slumped across Europe and Asia. France’s CAC 40 lost 1%, and Germany’s DAX dropped 1.1% for two of the larger losses.
___
McHugh reported from Frankfurt, Germany, and Junzhe reported from Hong Kong. AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Dee-Ann Durbin contributed.
