Oil prices jumped and stock markets fell over US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Attacks on shipping raised fears that the Strait of Hormuz could be closed; Goldman Sachs said that European gas prices could double if the strategic waterway closed for a month.
Commerzbank and JPMorgan both argued that a prolonged conflict could push oil above $100 a barrel. Such a price spike would hit the US economy, despite its growing self-sufficiency, and thus the world’s, analysts told the Financial Times: Sharply increased global prices would mean higher costs at the pump for consumers. Investors fled to havens such as gold and the Swiss franc, while S&P 500 futures fell more than 1%.
