Oil surpasses US$95 for the first time since June after the escalation of the war between the US and Iran

In recent days, Iran has also carried out attacks on US military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. Additionally, an oil tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz, the region's main oil transport corridor, raising concerns about the safety of the global flow of the commodity. Tensions increased further after the Houthis, a group in Yemen supported by Iran, announced a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia. The measure threatens the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and is one of the main oil export routes from the Middle East to Asia and Europe. On Tuesday (21), two tankers loaded with Saudi oil and destined for Asia changed course in the Red Sea after threats of attack by the Houthis. The episode reinforced fears that the conflict could compromise global oil supplies. The market fears that both the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb will face restrictions on vessel traffic. Together, the two passages concentrate a significant portion of global maritime oil trade, and any interruption could reduce the supply of the commodity and increase international prices. Stock markets react in a mixed way The rise in oil prices favored shares in the energy sector and helped boost European stock markets. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose about 0.6%, supported by oil and gas companies. American stock futures were falling before the release of the quarterly balance sheets of large technology companies, such as Alphabet and Tesla. Nasdaq futures fell about 0.6%, while S&P 500 futures fell 0.2%. In the currency market, the dollar lost strength against other major currencies, while the Japanese yen recovered after Japanese authorities indicated concern about inflation risks and the possibility of a faster interest rate rise than expected by the market. High oil prices complicate the scenario for central banks The rise of the commodity also increases the challenges for the main central banks, as higher energy prices tend to put pressure on inflation. This Thursday (23), the European Central Bank (ECB) will release its monetary policy decision. Next week, it will be the turn of the Federal Reserve (Fed), the US central bank. The prevailing expectation is that both institutions will keep interest rates unchanged this month. However, traders began to price at least an additional increase of 0.25 percentage points in both the US and the euro zone by the end of the year, given the risk that inflation will gain strength again with the rise in oil prices. *With information from Reuters