Oil Prices Surge Again as Asian Markets Plummet

Asian-Pacific markets fell on Thursday as investors grappled with volatile oil prices and escalating tensions in the Middle East, even after the US and its allies announced unprecedented releases of emergency crude oil reserves to stabilise the energy market.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) plans to release 400 million barrels of oil following supply disruptions caused by the Iran war, marking the largest action in the organisation’s history. The IEA did not specify a timeline for when these stocks would enter the market.

The US will release 172 million barrels of oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help reduce energy costs, according to Energy Minister Chris Wright announced Wednesday evening in the US.

The announcement came after President Donald Trump previously stated that day that he would utilise the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to suppress energy prices.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices rose more than 6% to $92.91 per barrel at 20:07 ET.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 1.56%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 1.6%, whilst the Topix lost 1.34%. South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.75%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures contracts stood at 25,756, compared with the index’s last closing level of 25,898.76.

Overnight in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined as investors continued to monitor developments in the US-Iran conflict and oil prices.

The 30-stock index lost 289.24 points, or 0.61%, closing at 47,417.27. The S&P 500 index fell marginally by 0.08% to 6,775.80, whilst the Nasdaq Composite rose marginally by 0.08% to 22,716.13.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices rose more than 7% to US$93.8 per barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude oil rose nearly 8% to $99.1 per barrel.