Middle Eastern conflicts and oil make for a combustible mix. Yet Hamas’s brutal attack on Israel this weekend ignited no conflagration in the crude oil market. On Monday, Brent’s price rose just 3 per cent to $87.
There are two reasons. Traders are downplaying the risk that the conflict will have a big regional impact, drawing in oil producer Iran. Hamas is believed to have received support from that quarter.
Moreover, investors do not believe oil can roar significantly higher, even if Iranian supplies are disrupted. That view takes account of the hawkish stance of the world’s central bankers.
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