Oil Tops USD108 After Trump's Iran Threat
Brent crude futures surged more than 7 percent, breaching $100 per barrel and closing in on $110, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed over 8 percent, vaulting above $100 and reaching more than $108 per barrel in early trading — levels that economists warn could rapidly feed through to inflation, transport costs, and household energy bills.
Trump Offers No Exit Timeline — Markets React
Market analysts pointed squarely to Trump's rare prime-time address as the principal catalyst for Thursday's price spike. The US president offered no clear timeline for winding down military operations and cautioned that strikes could intensify over the coming two to three weeks — remarks that swiftly extinguished hopes for near-term de-escalation and drove geopolitical risk premiums sharply higher across energy markets.
Tehran offered no conciliatory signals in response. Iran flatly denied pursuing a ceasefire and reiterated its assertion that the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway through which roughly 20 percent of global oil flows — remains firmly under its control, a declaration that deepened market unease over potential supply choke points.
Gas Prices Rebound — Gold Retreats
European natural gas markets also felt the heat. Benchmark Dutch TTF futures climbed to 49.6 euros (approximately $53.7) per megawatt-hour, rebounding from a more than three-week low. Warmer seasonal temperatures and a rise in renewable power output provided some demand-side relief, but analysts said geopolitical supply anxieties continued to dominate sentiment and underpin elevated price levels.
In a divergent move, safe-haven gold retreated, falling more than 3 percent to around $4,530 per ounce — snapping a four-consecutive-session winning streak as traders rotated capital into energy assets.
Europe's Storage Crisis Returns to the Fore
Thursday's market turbulence has thrown Europe's energy vulnerability back into sharp relief. Regional gas storage levels currently sit at a precarious 28 percent — well below seasonal norms — as European buyers face intensifying competition with Asian importers for available liquefied natural gas cargoes on global markets.
European Union officials have reportedly urged member states to brace for sustained disruptions to energy supply and are actively weighing the reinstatement of emergency mechanisms deployed during the 2022 energy crisis — a period that inflicted severe economic damage across the continent.
With no diplomatic resolution in sight in the Middle East, analysts caution that continued price volatility could rapidly translate into broader economic pain — compounding inflationary pressures, straining industrial sectors, and squeezing household budgets at a moment when Europe's recovery can ill afford fresh headwinds.
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