Closing post
With Europe’s stock markets closed, it’s time to wrap up… A quick recap:
Oil and gas prices fell sharply on Friday after Iran said the strait of Hormuz would open to commercial shipping, potentially clearing the way for tankers holding millions of barrels of oil and gas to reach the global market.
Iran’s foreign minister said vessels would be free to transit the strait of Hormuz for the duration of the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, struck on Thursday.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 12% to $87 a barrel. That is well below a high of $119 last month, but still higher than the $72 a barrel before the war.
Donald Trump later said the US naval blockade on Iran’s use of the strait would remain in full force until Washington had struck a deal with Tehran. He said the process “should go very quickly” because “most of the points are already negotiated”.
The benchmark European gas contract fell by about 8.5% to €38.80 (£33.80) per megawatt hour on hopes that diplomatic progress between the US and Iran could bring an end to the conflict.
Here’s the full story:
Our Middle East liveblog will be tracking all the latest developments
European stock markets have closed with solid gains.
Germany’s DAX led the way, up 2.25%, followed by Spain’s IBEX which gained 2.2% and France’s CAC 40 which rose by almost 2%.
