Oil prices hit their highest level since July on Thursday, topping $70 a barrel at one point, as markets reacted to the potential for the US to launch military strikes on Iran.
Gold also ticked over $5,600 an ounce briefly with brent crude rising 3.4% to a high of $70.71, its highest settle value since July 31 last year, The Times reports, before dropping back down to around $68 this mornng.
The movements were triggered by uncertainty over potential for military action on Iran which would disrupt supply from the region.
Iran produces around 3.2million barrels of oil a day, making it the fourth largest producer in OPEC (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries).
Suvro Sarkar, energy sector specialist at DBS Bank, told The Times: “The main driver of oil prices remains geopolitical risk premium surrounding Iran and the Middle East, though unplanned outages in Kazakhstan and the US … have had a temporary impact as well.”
FTSE100
The UK's flagship share index, the FTSE 100, was down 43 points at 10,177 shortly after opening this morning.
Brent crude oil futures were down 1.88% at $68.33 a barrel.
Companies reporting
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