Oil prices soar and stock markets fall after attacks on gas facilities

The price of Brent crude oil – the European benchmark – opened Thursday with a 6% increase, surpassing $114 per barrel, following the Israeli bombing of the South Pars gas facilities (the world's largest). West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, the US benchmark, rose 1.28% to $96.54 per barrel. The price of natural gas on the Dutch TTF market – the European benchmark – surged 28.06% on Thursday, reaching €70.20 per megawatt-hour (MWh). European stock markets reopened in the red on Thursday, after closing with widespread losses, amid soaring oil and natural gas prices following attacks on key energy infrastructure in the Middle East. The Ibex 35, the main index of the Spanish stock market, fell 1.46%, putting the 17,000-point mark at risk. Frankfurt's Dax suffered a 1.62% drop; in Milan, the FTSEMIB fell 1.40%; in London, the FTSE-100 lost 1.34%; and in Paris, the CAC-40 retreated 0.83%. Meanwhile, the average price of 95-octane unleaded gasoline in Spain is €1.708 per liter, while diesel reaches €1.836. Data from the state-run gas station geoportal shows that Catalonia is above the Spanish average for gasoline, with an average price of around €1.773 per liter, while diesel reaches €2.051. Asian stock markets, meanwhile, have been marked by volatility and registered significant declines this Thursday. In Japan, the Nikkei fell 3.38%; South Korea's Kospi dropped 2.73%, and in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 2.02%. As for the currency market, the rise in oil prices is also affecting the dollar's exchange rate. The euro has fallen to $1.145, while bond yields have risen sharply, reaching 3.488% in the case of Spain.