By Ronnie Harui
Oil rose in Asia on Thursday as President Trump signaled further U.S. military strikes against Iran, reviving concerns over supply disruptions in the Middle East. The comments undermined appetite for risk assets, dragging Asian equities lower.
In a primetime address, Trump said that the U.S. is "going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We're going to bring them back to the stone ages, where they belong." Trump touted the war as an investment in the future for Americans and suggested that the U.S. military operation could end within a month.
Trump also said allies who depend on the Middle East oil that transits through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively shut down, should "go to the strait and just take it, protect it, use it for yourselves."
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose 3.6% to $103.80 per barrel, reversing an earlier fall of as much as 2.6%, while front-month Brent crude oil futures advanced 4.5% to $105.71 a barrel.
"With no confirmed agenda, traders are left to price in a wide range of outcomes--from risk-on relief to a deeper risk-off move," said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at StoneX, in a commentary before Trump's speech.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.4%, South Korea's Kospi dropped 2.6%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.8%.
U.S. stock futures also declined, with eMini S&P 500 futures shedding 0.9%, eMini Nasdaq 100 futures losing 1.1%, and eMini Dow futures 0.8% lower.
Write to Ronnie Harui at ronnie.harui@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-01-26 2218ET
