Daily market report Wednesday 8 April

Prices close higher amid intensifying US rhetoric and mounting fears of imminent attacks on power infrastructure

Gas and power

Power and gas prices closed higher on Tuesday following reports of explosions on Kharg Island, the export hub for around 90% of Iran’s oil shipments. Despite later confirmation that no oil infrastructure had been damaged, increasingly forceful rhetoric from the US heightened fears of imminent strikes on power infrastructure across the Middle East, keeping prices elevated into the close. 

Adjacent markets

Equity markets fell yesterday as President Trump’s deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz loomed, with market fears exacerbated by reports of US attacks on Iran’s Kharg Island despite the deadline not yet being reached, while the President’s threat to kill “a whole civilization” further fuelled concerns. Oil prices also rose, with Iran warning that “restraint is over” and threatening to disrupt regional oil supplies for years to come.