Oil prices rally, stocks edge up after Trump's latest Iran threat
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HONG KONG: Oil prices rose Tuesday (Apr 7) while equities edged up tentatively as investors assessed Donald Trump's latest deadline for Iran to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz or be "decimated".
As the Middle East war entered its sixth week, the US president warned Tehran that its civilian infrastructure would be destroyed if it did not let ships through the waterway, through which a fifth of global crude and gas passes.
The remarks came as he and the Islamic Republic said a proposal touted by international mediators for a 45-day ceasefire was not yet ready.
Trump told a news conference that "the entire country" of Iran "could be taken out in one night and that night might be tomorrow night", if his ultimatum to reopen the Strait by 12am GMT Wednesday was not met.
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"We have a plan ... where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o'clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again," Trump said, brushing aside accusations that such a move would be a war crime.
"I mean complete demolition by 12 o'clock, and it'll happen over a period of four hours - if we wanted to."
The threat came after a profanity-laced social media post on Easter Sunday in which he vowed Iran would be "living in Hell" if it didn't reopen the Strait.
Tehran said that if such an attack went ahead, it would retaliate by striking energy infrastructure in the Gulf, which could deal a further blow to already thin oil supplies and hammer the global economy.
Both main oil contracts rose Tuesday, with West Texas Intermediate around US$115 - its highest in a month - and Brent sitting above US$111.
Equity markets fluctuated, with Tokyo flat, while Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Taipei, Wellington, Manila and Bangkok rose along with London, Paris and Frankfurt.
Singapore, Mumbai and Jakarta fell. Hong Kong was closed for a holiday.
That followed a positive start to the week on Wall Street.
"Financial markets are oscillating in a narrow, uneasy range as traders sized up the countdown to Donald Trump's Iran deadline," wrote Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.
"Tentative ceasefire optics (were) offering brief relief but never fully offsetting the lingering risk of escalation," he added.
"For now, the rhetoric has tightened, the threats sharpened, and yet the market is not capitulating, conditioned by repetition to expect de-escalation just before the edge.
"Traders are no longer reacting to what is said, but to when it is usually walked back."
The hit to fuel supplies from the Middle East has forced governments around the world to unveil economic support measures amid fears of another spike in inflation.
On Tuesday, the Philippines said inflation jumped to a forecast-topping 4.1 per cent in March, its highest level in nearly two years.
US figures last week showed growth in the country's services activity cooled last month as companies monitored the higher energy prices and braced for supply chain disruptions.
In company news, Samsung rallied around 1 per cent after estimating first-quarter profit soared 755 per cent to an all-time high of US$37.9 billion, thanks to strong sales of chips crucial for artificial intelligence.
It also said sales were expected to surge 68 per cent on-year to hit US$88 billion in January-March.
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