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Asian Equities · Energy Policy · Geopolitics · Oil Prices
Oil prices fell significantly, with West Texas Intermediate crude down 2.1% to $94.16 per barrel and Brent crude down 1.5% to $107.04 a barrel, while Asian equities showed mixed performance, following statements from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent regarding potential measures to alleviate oil supply concerns.
Bessent indicated the U.S. could remove sanctions on approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian oil already at sea and is considering further releases from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, with Japan also potentially releasing from its stockpiles. These actions, described as a "Bessent Put" by Vishnu Varathan of Mizuho Securities (Singapore), aim to contain energy prices amid the Middle East conflict.
Asian markets reacted with South Korea's Kospi rising 0.7% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shedding 0.6%, while China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2% and the tech-heavy ChiNext Price Index surged 3.3% to its highest level since December 2021. Capital Economics analyst Thomas Mathews noted China's resilience due to lower energy cost exposure.
Precious metals also saw gains, with spot gold rising 1.5% to $4,725.56 an ounce and spot silver gaining 1.3% to $73.80 an ounce.
