Oil jumps 4% as strikes continue
March 19, 2026 10:36 am
The price of Brent crude shot up by 4% to $112 (£84.34) a barrel in early trade in Asia.
US-traded oil also rose by 3% to $99.27.
The jump comes after Iran’s South Pars gas facility - one of the world’s largest natural gas fields - was hit.
Iran retaliated by targeting a major liquefied natural gas export facility in Qatar, causing ‘‘extensive damage’’, raising concerns over the global energy supply.
While oil prices are still significantly above their pre-war levels, they are below the peaks reached earlier in the conflict, when crude nearly hit $120 a barrel.
Stock exchanges in Asia fell in early Thursday trade.
South Korea’s Kospi was down by 3% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell by 2.8%.
Australia’s ASX 200 was 1.6% lower.
Source: BBC
--Agencies
