Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, with Brent crude over $90 per barrel and Asia-Pacific markets in the red
The similarities between the Yom Kippur war in 1973 and today’s conflict are “not exact”, our economics editor Larry Elliott writes.
He cautions, though, that “the idea that the world could again be on the brink of something nasty is inescapable”.
It would be wrong to say that the IMF, the World Bank and the rich countries that dominate them are not worried. They are. The problem is they are not nearly worried enough.
“As risk-off sentiment has been spreading, investors have been seeking more defensive positions amid fears of conflict escalating in the Middle East. The FTSE 100 looks set to benefit from higher energy prices with oil and gas prices dipping back but remaining at elevated levels, having jumped sharply over supply concerns.
Investors are braced for volatility ahead amid fears that Hezbollah militants could attack Israel over its operations in Gaza as forces ready for invasion. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been on a whistle stop tour of countries around the Middle East, stressing that all leaders want to see the conflict contained, but there is clearly still concern about the risks of contagion.
