SYDNEY: Oil prices surged on Monday and shares slid as military conflict in the Middle East looked set to last weeks, sending investors flocking to the relative safety of the dollar, gold and bonds. A prolonged spike in oil prices would risk reigniting inflationary pressures globally, while also acting as a tax on business and consumers that could dampen demand. "The nearest historical analogue in our view is the Middle East oil embargo of the 1970s, which increased oil prices by 300% to around $12/bbl in 1974," said Alan Gelder, SVP of refining, chemicals and oil markets at Wood Mackenzie. While the Japanese yen is often a safe harbour, the country imports all of its oil making the flows more two-way. The news slugged banking stocks and combined with jitters over AI-related stocks to hit Wall Street more broadly.

Source: The Star March 02, 2026 02:29 UTC