Tokyo (AFP) – Oil prices rose on Monday after US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s terms for ending the war in the Middle East, while stocks were mixed. Trump’s repudiation of Iran’s response to his latest peace proposal raised the likelihood of further violence and disruptions to oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
“I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called ‘Representatives.’ I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” said Trump, who is due in China this week where the war will likely loom large in discussions. “We did not demand any concessions. The only thing we demanded was Iran’s legitimate rights,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Monday.
Iran wants “an end to the war” and to the US naval blockade, and the “release of assets belonging to the Iranian people, which have for years been unjustly trapped in foreign banks,” he said. “President Trump’s swift rejection of these counter-demands underscores the wide gulf between both sides, pointing to a risk of prolonged uncertainty rather than rapid de-escalation,” said Lloyd Chan at Japanese bank MUFG.
“For oil markets, this suggests a persistent geopolitical risk premium as Hormuz disruptions drag on,” Chan said. Oil came off earlier highs and Asian stocks were mixed, with Tokyo closing half a percent lower and Hong Kong little changed, but Seoul was up 4.3 percent, boosted by tech stocks. In Tokyo, Nintendo shares plunged almost 10 percent after the Japanese gaming giant warned Friday of lower profits this year and said it would hike the price of its Switch 2 console.
In Europe, Frankfurt and Paris started lower but London eked out early gains. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was due in Japan and South Korea before heading to China for Trump’s high-stakes summit with President Xi Jinping. “China is willing to work with the United States in the spirit of equality, respect, and mutual benefit, to expand cooperation, manage differences, and inject more stability and certainty into a volatile and intertwined world,” China’s foreign ministry said Monday.
– Key figures at around 0820 GMT –
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 3.1 percent at $98.39 a barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 3.2 percent at $104.55 a barrel
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.5 percent at 62,417.88 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 26,406.84 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 4,225.02 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 10,250.55
Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.8 percent at 8,049.58
Frankfurt – DAX 30: DOWN 0.2 percent at 24,288.52
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1778 from $1.1779 on Friday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3603 from $1.3625
Dollar/yen: UP at 157.06 from 156.76 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 86.58 pence from 86.45 pence
New York – DOW: FLAT at 49,609.16 (close)
burs-stu/mtp
© 2024 AFP
