Volatility rises as conflict spreads, but currency movements remain restrained
Good morning. Financial markets are experiencing violent price action after the weekend’s US-Israeli strike on Iran triggered a classic—if short-lived—flight to safety and a sharp repricing in global energy markets. With shipping through the Strait of Hormuz grinding to a standstill and Gulf producers curtailing output, crude prices are up roughly 9 percent from Friday’s close, while natural gas benchmarks in Europe and Asia have surged more than 30 percent. Qatar’s state-owned energy company—one of the world’s biggest—invoked force majeure this morning, pausing liquefied natural gas delivery after Iran hit some of its facilities with drone strikes, and authorities in...