Brent crude climbed above US$79 a barrel on Wednesday as renewed hostilities in the Persian Gulf raised fresh concerns about shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz.
The price surge reflects market anxiety over potential supply bottlenecks in one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, with traders pricing in the risk of interrupted flows from the region.
The spike in energy costs has immediately reignited worries about inflationary pressure, complicating the outlook for central banks navigating a fragile economic recovery.
Higher oil prices threaten to erode consumer purchasing power and increase input costs for manufacturers, potentially forcing policymakers to maintain a tighter monetary stance for longer than previously anticipated.
Equity markets across Asia-Pacific opened lower, extending a broad-based selloff that has gripped global risk assets since the United States launched military strikes against Iran.
The renewed escalation has deepened the risk-off mood, with investors rotating out of cyclical equities and into safe-haven assets.