Oil surges after Gulf tanker attacks, stocks claw higher

 

• Suspected attacks on two tankers off the coast of Iran saw oil markets erupt out of their recent slump on Thursday and kept traders gobbling up ultra-safe government bonds, gold, and the Japanese yen.
• Brent surged as much 4% after reports of the attacks added to already heightened tensions between Iran and the United States. The area is near the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of global oil consumption passes from Middle East producers.
• The crude spike helped Europe’s oil producers pull European stock markets higher and lift Wall Street futures.
• There were also some stellar gains in the telecoms sector as Germany dished out new 5G mobile network licenses to some new entrants.  
• Given that oil was at five-month lows on Wednesday, people were taking precautions in case it might escalate into something more serious, CMC Markets senior analyst Michael Hewson said.

 (Source: Reuters)