Oil prices slide on hopes of deal to end Mideast war / Photo: © AFP
Oil prices slide on hopes of deal to end Mideast war
Oil prices tumbled Monday after US President Donald Trump said he was preparing for new talks with Iran aimed at ending the war in the Middle East, which also helped lift stocks.
Crude futures slid more than six percent, even though Iran denied that any negotiations were taking place.
The yen meanwhile surged against the dollar after US and Japanese authorities confirmed Monday that they had bought Japan's currency on the open markets after months of weakness.
But while a weaker yen helps big exporters like Sony or Toyota, it also inflates import costs for Japan, and the main Japanese stock index fell nearly one percent on Monday.
Elsewhere on Asian markets, technology companies again saw heavy losses as traders worry about whether massive investments in artificial intelligence will deliver long-lasting profits.
The chipmakers SK hynix and Samsung dragged down South Korea's Kospi index after a rally on Friday.
European stock markets, which feature fewer technology names than their Asian and US counterparts, mostly enjoyed solid gains.
But London flattened after the share price of one of its biggest constituents, the pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca, slumped five percent on a report that it could merge with US rival Bristol Myers Squibb.
Beyond the geopolitical risks, attention is also on the prospects for the US economy after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady last week despite calls from some of its policymakers to raise rates to fight inflation.
"The focus as we move through the week will be the US non-farm payrolls report, which will be another test of the resilience of the US labour market," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at the trading platform XTB.
On currency markets, the dollar traded mixed, rising against the pound and the euro but down sharply against the yen after the rare joint US-Japan intervention.
The yen soared late last week after wallowing near its weakest dollar level since 1986, hit by higher US interest rates, rising oil prices and persistent capital outflows from Japan.
Despite falling on Monday, oil prices remain well above levels seen before the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran, sparking a war that has sharply curtailed Gulf exports of oil and other key products.
Trump said the latest US-Iran negotiations would cover the Strait of Hormuz, which has become a main sticking point in the conflict.
His announcement came after he threatened to hit Iran "very hard" and was reportedly considering renewed attacks including against energy infrastructure.
He pulled back from that threat on Saturday, saying the "perimeters" of a deal were there.
The decline in oil prices was aided by an agreement between Saudi Arabia, Russia and five other OPEC+ members to boost production by 188,000 barrels a day from September, analysts said.
- Key figures around 1130 GMT -
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 6.2 percent at $79.46 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 5.1 percent at $83.40 per barrel
London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 10,864.39 points
Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.3 percent at 8,622.26
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.5 percent at 26,002.93
Seoul - Kospi: DOWN 5.1 percent at 6,257.45 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 63,754.90 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 percent at 26,009.40 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,809.66 (close)
New York - DOW: UP 0.5 percent at 52,485.03 (close)
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.98 yen from 159.11 yen on Friday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1522 from $1.1530
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3460 from $1.3480
Euro/pound: UP at 85.61 pence at 85.53 pence
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G.al-Sharif--BT
