The Israeli-Hamas war has sharpened focus on rising geopolitical risks for financial markets, as investors wait to see if the conflict draws in other countries with the potential to drive up oil prices further and deal a fresh blow to the world economy.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to "demolish Hamas" as his military prepared ground operations in Gaza to root out the militant group, whose deadly rampage through Israeli border towns stunned the nation.
Oil prices leapt nearly 6% on Friday, as investors priced in the possibility of a wider Middle East conflict. The first indicator of reaction to weekend developments will likely come when oil starts trading in Asia later on Sunday.
"It looks like we’re headed for a massive ground invasion of Gaza and a large-scale loss of life," said Ben Cahill, senior fellow in the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). "Anytime you have a conflict of this scale, you will have a market reaction."
No comments:
Post a Comment