As U.S. President Donald Trump released that Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, died in a joint strike with Israel, global energy and financial markets are showing signs of turmoil.
On Feb. 28 (local time), local media said international oil prices are expected to surge as growing concerns that instability in the Middle East could lead to disruptions in crude supply mount.
In particular, as reports emerged that Iran moved to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, which handles about 20% of the world's seaborne crude shipments, some even projected oil could reach $100 per barrel.
Amid accumulated tensions between the United States and Iran, international oil prices have already risen about 20% this year. Brent crude, the global benchmark, closed up about 2.5% at $72.48 the previous day, the highest settlement since last July.
With the international oil futures market closed over the weekend, it is not easy to gauge an immediate reaction. However, on a retail trading platform operated by IG Group, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed to $75.33 per barrel, about 12% above the previous close.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said to domestic media that "following the U.S. and Israeli invasion, we are enforcing a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz." The strait at the mouth of the Gulf (the Persian Gulf) is a key artery for global energy shipments.
Will Hares and Saly Yilmaz of Bloomberg Intelligence projected Brent could rise to around $80 per barrel in the near term. Some analyses say it could soar to $100 per barrel if the conflict spills over into surrounding areas.
Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies weakened as risk-off sentiment grew. Bitcoin at one point fell as much as 3.8% to $63,038 before rebounding to around $65,000 in the afternoon. Ethereum also plunged 4.5% to $1,836 before trading around $1,950 as of 3:30 p.m.
Cryptocurrency data firm CoinGecko said about $128 billion (about 185 trillion won) in market capitalization vanished from the digital asset market right after the airstrikes.
On Hyperliquid, a 24-hour derivatives platform, gold and silver saw active trading. As of 11 a.m. that day, silver recorded more than $500 million in transactions over the past 24 hours, the most active among commodities. Gold saw roughly $140 million traded. U.S. equity index-linked products fell 1% to 2%.