Black Thursday on world stock markets with oil at $110 a barrel
The Ibex 35 falls below the 17,000-point mark, dragged down by crude oil, reaching a low of $119 during the day.
Thursday's session saw a further surge in oil and gas prices following the Israeli bombing of the South Pars gas facilities (the largest in the world). The price of Brent crude – the European benchmark – has risen by more than 3%, climbing back above $110. In fact, it reached a high of $119 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude – the US benchmark – is up nearly 1.50%, to $97 per barrel. Meanwhile, the price of natural gas on the Dutch TTF market – the European benchmark – is around €62 per megawatt-hour (MWh), representing an increase of more than 13% during the session and nearly doubling its price since the start of the war.
Stock markets across the Old Continent experienced another day of losses, amid the surge in oil and natural gas prices following attacks on key energy infrastructure in the Middle East. The Ibex-35 – Spain's main stock index – fell 2.45% and will begin Friday's session below the psychological threshold of 17,000 points. Among the stocks that make up the Madrid exchange, Indra was the hardest hit, dropping more than 12% amid the dispute between its two main shareholders. Conversely, Repsol and Naturgy were the only two listed companies to close in positive territory.
The other European stock markets followed the same trend: Frankfurt's DAX fell 2.84%; Milan's FTSE MIB dropped 2.42%; London's FTSE 100 declined 2.43%; and Paris's CAC 40 fell around 2%. Asian markets, for their part, were also marked by volatility and registered significant declines on Thursday. In Japan, the Nikkei fell 3.38%; South Korea's Kospi dropped 2.73%, and in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index declined 2.02%.
Bond interest rates on the rise
Following the decision to maintain interest rates and the statements by the president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, debt interest rates are moving upwards: the interest demanded on bund The German benchmark—the one in Europe—is approaching 3%; the Spanish 10-year bond is now offering close to 3.50%. In the United States, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond is rising above 4.25%.
As for the currency market, the euro has already surpassed $1.15. Precious gold continues to decline and is now trading below $4,600 an ounce. Meanwhile, silver is down around 10%, to $70 an ounce.
Gasoline continues to rise in price.
Meanwhile, the price of 95-octane unleaded gasoline and diesel in Catalonia has been steadily rising since the start of the war in Iran on February 28. Data from the state-run gas station geoportal shows that the price of 95-octane unleaded gasoline has jumped by more than 19%, and diesel by nearly 30%.
