The US and UK strikes did not come as a complete surprise to investors. The obvious danger in the oil market is that Iran would be drawn directly into the conflict.
Crude oil the price has risen significantly on Friday after the United States and Britain carried out strikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The strikes are in response to numerous drone and missile strikes against cargo ships in the Red Sea by the Iran-backed Houthis.
On Friday, the price of the North Sea's Brent reference quality in London had risen by a maximum of four percent to more than 80 US dollars per barrel.
The situation in the Middle East has been tense since Hamas attacked Israel in October. The Houthis have carried out attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea almost daily and have announced that the attacks will not stop until Israel ends its offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
President of the United States Joe Biden said in his speech that more attacks against the Houthi rebels can be carried out if the mobility of international trade is still in reserve.
Houthi leader Abdul Malik Al-Houthi already announced on Thursday that the Houthis will strike back “big”. Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned the actions of the United States and Britain.
The Association of Tanker Shipping Companies advised tankers to avoid areas near the coast of Yemen.
Obvious the danger to oil prices is that Iran would be drawn directly into the conflict. The spread of the conflict to Iran could jeopardize the export of oil to the world from Iran or, more broadly, from the Persian Gulf region, which is important for the supply of oil.
According to the assessment of the Dutch bank ING Groep, the US and British attacks did not come as a complete surprise to the oil market.
Also the founder of energy consulting company Vanda Insights Vandana Hari evaluates the news agency For Bloombergthat the risk of the situation in the Middle East escalating has already been priced into the price of oil.
The March futures price of the Brent reference quality moved slightly before six o'clock in the evening Finnish time on Friday with a rise of more than 1% at USD 79.02 per barrel. At the same time, February delivery of US WTI quality had risen two percent to $73.53 per barrel.
The stock market have taken the blows in stride.
The stock market in the USA was in a fine decline on Friday at six o'clock in the evening Finnish time. The broad S&P 500 index and the technology-focused Nasdaq index were both down 0.1 percent. The Dow Jones of major companies was down 0.5 percent.
The Stoxx 600 index, which broadly follows European shares, closed up 0.7 percent on Friday. The OMXH general index of the Helsinki Stock Exchange also closed with a gain of 0.8 percent, but the US stock market was expected to open to a decline based on index futures.
The Asia-Pacific index, which broadly tracks Asian shares, rose gently in the morning, and the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Nikkei 225 index closed up 1.5 percent to its highest level in 34 years.
Head of Research at ANZ Bank in Australia Khoon Goh estimates that it is still too early to say what kind of effects the strikes will have.
“For now, the market is in a waiting state, so we don't see big reactions. If the situation escalates massively, then traditional safe harbor behavior will occur, i.e. US government bonds and the safe harbor currencies yen and Swiss franc will benefit,” Goh told news agency Reuters.
The traditional safe haven investment, i.e. gold, had gone up gently. The spot price of gold had increased by 1.2 percent to $2,052 per ounce.
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