The peace agreement lowers the price of oil and the Ibex marks a historic record

BarcelonaThe peace agreement between the United States and Iran, to be signed on Friday, which would allow the reopening of passage through the Strait of Hormuz, was immediately reflected in the energy and financial markets, with a decrease this Monday in the price of oil and a generalized rise in the main Asian stock markets, first, and then in Europe.

The Brent crude oil barrel, a benchmark in Europe, fell this Monday below 80 dollars, something that had not happened since the first week of March, just after the attack by the United States and Israel on Iran. Throughout the day, it stabilized around 83 dollars per barrel, with a decrease of around 5%.

Stock markets reacted upwards. The Ibex-35 experienced one of its best days of the year. The Spanish selective index added 267.6 points and rose by 1.43%, to 19,032 points at the close of the session, a new historical record. Thus, during the year, the Spanish index has revalued by 9.96%. At some points during the day, the Ibex even reached over 19,100 points, with banking pushing upwards, while the largest losses were recorded by the oil company Repsol, with a decrease of 4.67%.

With the euro trading at 1.1599 dollars, European stock markets, with the exception of London (-0.39%), closed with gains. The German DAX climbed by 1.05%, followed by Milan (0.66%), which once again revalidated highs close to 52,000 points, and Paris, which closed with an advance of 0.4%. On the other side of the Atlantic, the Nasdaq was up 2.75% at the close of European markets, the S&P 500 by 1.69%, and its main index, the Dow Jones, by 1.26%.

The agreement announced on Sunday evening also marked the day in Asian stock markets, with gains that in some cases exceeded 5%. The Seoul, Tokyo, and Philippines stock exchanges led the gains. The Chinese Shenzhen index rose by almost 4%, and the Japanese Nikkei and the South Korean Kospi gained more than 5%.

More vigilance on oil companies

In this context, the Spanish government continues its meetings with social and business agents to assess the impact of the measures implemented to address the price increase due to the war in the Middle East, but above all to evaluate whether they will be maintained. It should be recalled that the royal decree in force with the measures expires on June 30 and includes aid for fuels, among other fiscal aid.

This Monday, the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, and the Minister for Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, met with gas and oil operators. In this meeting, the ministry headed by Aagesen conveyed that the Spanish government will extend for a full year the obligation for oil companies to report weekly to the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) on the acquisition cost of oil products and the selling prices of fuels.

As explained by sources from the Ministry for Ecological Transition, the measure will be approved by the Council of Ministers this Tuesday. This obligation affects wholesale oil product operators with refining capacity in the State, i.e., Repsol, BP, and Moeve (formerly Cepsa). It is one of the measures included in the royal decree due to the war to facilitate the work of the CNMC, which monitors the practices of large oil companies to prevent abuse of consumers in a context where oil prices have skyrocketed. The objective is to strengthen surveillance over the margins of energy companies, especially oil companies, in a time of price volatility.

However, sources from the Ministry of Economy state that the package of measures "is fulfilling its objective of cushioning the impact [of the war] on inflation and the purchasing power" of families.