Last Updated on March 4, 2026 9:27 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
AMN/ WEB DESK
Gas prices have spiked in the international market, and global stock markets tumbled as the conflict in the Middle East intensified.
The UK gas price surged to its highest level for three years yesterday, following sharp gains on Monday, while the Brent crude oil benchmark briefly rose above 85 dollars a barrel for the first time since July 2024.
Meanwhile, the share prices of companies on the US and European stock markets plunged. There are fears that the fight in a region that plays a key role in global energy supplies and shipping routes could have a similar impact to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago, which pushed up the cost of energy, causing price rises for businesses and consumers around the world.
In its latest fiscal outlook document, the UK’s Office for Budget Responsibility said the escalation of the conflict could upset its forecasts, warning it could have “very significant impacts on the global and UK economies”.
The FTSE 100 index of the largest firms listed in London fell 2.75% by the end of trading yesterday, while Germany and France’s main indexes closed down 3.44% and 3.46%, respectively.
In the US, the S&P 500 fell sharply at the open but recovered some of those losses to be 1.23% lower by the middle of the trading day.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei fell 3.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite in mainland China were also down. The Kospi in South Korea, which was shut for a public holiday on Monday, fell by more than 7%.