Oil prices rose sharply again today after US President Donald Trump dashed hopes for a quick end to the war in Iran, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
The Brent variety from the North Sea, which is a reference for Europe, added more than 7 percent to above 109 d. per barrel after Trump said yesterday that the US would hit "extremely hard" in the coming weeks and "we will put them back in the Stone Age, where they belong".
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 10.34 percent to $110.47 a barrel.
At the same time, government bond yields jumped on expectations that a sharp rise in inflation will force central banks to raise their key interest rates or at least keep them unchanged.
The dollar, which has regained its safe-haven status in times of crisis, rose 0.5 percent against the euro to $1.1526 per euro.
Gold and silver fell 3 percent and 5.7 percent respectively, after their modest gains in recent days were ended.
Trump and his advisers have been giving conflicting explanations and timeline for the conflict, now in its fifth week. Some allies are pressuring the US president to assuage growing concerns among Americans, most of whom oppose the conflict and are angered by rising gasoline prices due to disruptions in global oil supplies.
The president briefly addressed those concerns, promising that prices would fall again. Notably, he did not commit to any timetable for ending the war and said the US would begin striking energy and oil facilities if deemed appropriate, although he said the end was “near”, Reuters notes.