Oil price surges, Asian stocks fall as Trump vows to continue Iran attacks

Asian stocks also took a hit after Trump’s speech, as most Southeast Asian countries rely heavily on oil imports, leaving them especially exposed.Oil prices rose more than $5 as President Donald Trump said the United States would continue attacks on Iran without committing to a specific timeline to end the war, fanning investor fears about sustained disruptions to supply.Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose $6.33, or 6.3 percent to $107.49 per barrel early on Thursday, while US West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 futures were up $5.28, or 5.3 percent to $105.40 per barrel.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4After Strait of Hormuz opens, turmoil would still last months, analysts saylist 2 of 4Can Russia help fill the global energy gap?list 3 of 4EU warns oil and gas prices won’t quickly return to normal after Iran warlist 4 of 4Trump’s primetime speech on Iran war: Key takeawaysend of listThe gains followed an earlier fall of more than $1 in both benchmarks prior to Trump’s televised speech to the nation.Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the US-Israeli attacks has disrupted about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies, causing the world’s biggest energy crisis in decades.“We are going to finish the job, and we’re going to finish it very fast. We’re getting very close,” Trump said on Wednesday. He also claimed that the US military had nearly achieved its goals in the conflict, which would end in two to three weeks. Those remarks are similar to previous ones.Asia hit hardAsian stocks also took a hit after Trump’s speech. Most Southeast Asian countries rely heavily on oil imports, leaving them especially exposed to the sharp rise in oil prices triggered by the Middle East war.Asian emerging market stocks fell overall with a main regional index – the MSCI gauge of EM Asia equities – dropping 2.3 percent, while regional currencies weakened slightly by 0.2 percent.South Korea’s main stock market, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), fell by 4.2 percent after earlier gaining nearly 2 percent.