Business & Markets
Oil rises as Middle East fighting weighs on markets
World oil prices rose on Wednesday as the United States and Iran carried out more strikes, while stock markets moved in different directions.
Brent North Sea crude, the international benchmark, rose above $95 a barrel for the first time in nearly six weeks before giving back part of its gains. Around 2010 GMT, Brent was still up 3.4 percent at $94.07 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was up 3.0 percent at $86.83.
John Kilduff of Again Capital said military action had resumed at a very high level and that rhetoric was at its hottest since the start of the war.
US President Donald Trump threatened to hit one Iranian bridge or power plant for each attack on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran would answer any attack on its infrastructure in the same way, writing on X that Iran’s defence doctrine was “eye for an eye.”
Maritime data analyzed by AFP showed that at least nine ships had turned back from crossing the Bab al-Mandab strait at the southern end of the Red Sea after Houthi rebels announced a blockade of Saudi ports. Maritime data firm Kpler said three of the ships had taken on oil at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Yanbu terminal, which the source described as an important route for Riyadh to avoid the Hormuz Strait.
US stocks had a limited reaction to the jump in oil prices. The S&P 500 closed down 0.1 percent at 7,498.96, the Dow was flat at 52,218.58, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.6 percent to 25,690.90.
Arun Sundaram of CFRA Research cited a growing list of market pressures, including renewed tariff threats by Trump, rising US bond yields and concerns over China’s artificial intelligence competitiveness.
Technology shares were also in focus. Chris Beauchamp of IG said a move away from tech had helped European markets overall. The source said Amazon, Meta and Microsoft, which are making large AI investments, traded sharply lower. Russ Mould of AJ Bell said investors were waiting for updates on AI-related demand and whether large technology infrastructure spending was paying off, with results due from Alphabet, Intel, Microsoft, Meta and others.
European markets closed higher. London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.2 percent to 10,716.97, Paris’s CAC 40 rose 0.9 percent to 8,437.89, and Frankfurt’s DAX rose 0.6 percent to 25,155.41.
Asian markets closed mixed. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.2 percent to 66,115.60, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.0 percent to 24,892.66, and Shanghai’s Composite rose 0.1 percent to 3,867.03.
In currency trading, the euro rose to $1.1411 from $1.1398 on Tuesday, the pound slipped to $1.3372 from $1.3376, the euro rose to 85.33 pence from 85.21 pence, and the dollar slipped to 163.15 yen from 163.17 yen.
Update
Brent North Sea crude passed $95 a barrel for the first time in nearly six weeks before easing, and was later up 3.4 percent at $94.07 around 2010 GMT.
West Texas Intermediate was up 3.0 percent at $86.83 a barrel around 2010 GMT.
US President Donald Trump threatened to strike an Iranian bridge or power plant for each attack on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran would respond in kind to any attack on its infrastructure.
Maritime data analyzed by AFP showed at least nine ships had turned back from crossing the Bab al-Mandab strait after Houthi rebels announced a blockade of Saudi ports.
US markets ended little changed to lower, with the S&P 500 down 0.1 percent and the Nasdaq down 0.6 percent, while major European markets closed higher.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 20:14:03 UTC.
Update
Brent crude was up 3.0 percent at $93.77 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was up 2.7 percent at $86.62 around 1530 GMT.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran could not be allowed to control traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and said Iran was not taking negotiations seriously.
President Donald Trump warned he was not finished with the war and later said the United States would bomb Iranian civil infrastructure every time Tehran fired at ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
AFP-analyzed maritime data showed at least nine ships had turned back from crossing the Bab al-Mandab strait after Houthi rebels announced a blockade of Saudi ports.
Kpler said three of the ships had taken on oil at Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Yanbu terminal.
European markets closed higher, while Asian markets were mixed and the Nasdaq was slightly lower in late morning New York trading.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 16:10:56 UTC.
Update
Brent crude was up 2.7 percent at $93.42 per barrel around 1330 GMT after earlier passing $95.
West Texas Intermediate was up 2.4 percent at $86.39 around 1330 GMT.
Wall Street's main indices opened lower, with the Nasdaq Composite down 0.6 percent.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 1.9 percent after rising more than five percent on Tuesday.
European indices were higher around 1330 GMT, including the FTSE 100, CAC 40 and DAX.
The source reported that President Donald Trump vowed the United States would bomb Iranian civil infrastructure every time Tehran fired at ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 13:46:35 UTC.
Update
Brent later gave up some gains and was up 3.6 percent at $94.32 per barrel around 1045 GMT.
West Texas Intermediate was up 3.5 percent at $87.30 per barrel around 1045 GMT.
European markets rose while major Asian markets closed mixed.
The report adds comments from Kathleen Brooks and Russ Mould about European stocks, chip shares and technology earnings.
The report lists updated equity, oil and currency levels around 1045 GMT.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 11:22:32 UTC.
Update
Brent North Sea crude rose 4.4 percent to $95.02 a barrel.
West Texas Intermediate rose 4.5 percent to $88.16 a barrel.
Brent surpassed $95 for the first time in nearly six weeks.
The price rise came as the United States and Iran carried out more strikes.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 10:00:20 UTC.
Update
Brent North Sea crude rose above $95 a barrel.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 09:47:43 UTC.
Update
Brent crude briefly moved above $94 a barrel and was up 3.2 percent at $93.92 around 0830 GMT.
The source says fresh US strikes triggered air defences in Iran.
President Donald Trump said the United States was not finished attacking Iran.
The US military said the latest attacks included military logistics infrastructure.
Iranian state media reported strikes around Iran, including Bushehr, which hosts a nuclear power plant.
Trump said he would respond to Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis if they carried out threats to blockade Saudi Arabia's ports.
The Japanese yen remained under pressure after falling below 163 against the dollar late Tuesday, its weakest level since 1986.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 09:09:49 UTC.
Update
Asian technology shares rose for a second day, following overnight gains on the Nasdaq.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was up 1.9 percent, while semiconductor-heavy Seoul was reported as up 5.4 percent.
The yen remained under pressure after falling below 163 to the dollar late Tuesday, its weakest level since 1986.
The report adds comments from Stephen Innes on AI-related stock valuations and investment spending.
The report adds that Tesla and Alphabet were due to report results later Wednesday, with Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Amazon due the following week.
Trump said the United States was not finished attacking Iran and said he would take care of Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels if they carried out a threat to blockade Saudi ports.
The report adds Jay Hatfield's view that oil could stay in an $80-to-$90 range depending on news flow, but could move above $100 if the Red Sea were closed.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 03:03:01 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The source reports threats and market reactions during an ongoing conflict, and future effects on oil prices and shipping remain uncertain.
Source
AFP news report published on .