Oil again surpasses 100 dollars a barrel
Despite Trump's indefinite truce, the paralysis of maritime traffic in Iran sends crude oil soaring and punishes stock markets
BarcelonaMarkets continue to be trapped in uncertainty due to the lack of progress in negotiations between the United States and Iran. The Ibex-35 closed the session with a drop of 0.75%, down to 18,006.4 points, in a day marked by crude oil returning to the psychological barrier of $100 per barrel. Despite Donald Trump having extended the truce, the persistent blockade in the Strait of Hormuz keeps maritime traffic at minimums and continues to fuel an inflationary spiral that threatens global stability.
Although the scenario of an all-out open war seems to have been avoided, the paralysis in Hormuz keeps oil at critical levels. The price of a barrel of Brent – the reference crude in Europe – rose by 3.50%, reaching over $101. For its part, the WTI – the reference in the United States – advanced by 2.85%, to $92.2 per barrel.
The same trend has been registered by natural gas: the price of gas in the TTF market in the Netherlands – the reference in Europe – is around 44 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), which represents an increase of more than 5% during the session.
Markets in the red
The session opened with gains, after President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire, but tension in the oil price has caused the quotation to fall back. The Ibex-35 closed the session with a retreat of 136.2 points, despite still maintaining an accumulated annual revaluation of 4.04%.
The rest of the Old Continent's stock markets followed the same trend: the German Dax lost 0.25%; the London stock market, 0.21%; Milan, 0.25% and the French CAC, close to 1%.
Debt on the rise
Beyond stocks, instability has also spread to the debt market, where interest rates have risen again: the Spanish ten-year bond is already close to 3.45%, following the trend of the German bund and US debt.
In terms of the foreign exchange market, the euro remains stable at 1.17 dollars, with investors awaiting the US Federal Reserve (FED) to make a move and give clues about the direction of interest rates. "Precious" gold has also reacted upwards and is now climbing to 4,700 dollars an ounce.
