Oil Prices Rise as Donald Trump Warns Iran and European Stocks Fall Over Inflation Fears

Oil prices rose on Friday as European and Japanese stock indices fell amid inflation fears and the war with Iran, after remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump that his patience with Iran was running out.

By 09:25 GMT, Brent crude futures were up $3.47, or 3.3%, at $109.19 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up $3.72, or 3.7%, at $104.89.

BBC

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 fell 0.8% to 611.27 points by 07:03 GMT, with Germany's DAX down 1% and France's CAC 40 down 0.8%.

The Financial Post said the fallout from the war in Iran continued to ripple across the global economy, complicating the outlook and fueling inflation angst, while noting that in the US a closely watched measure of consumer prices climbed at the fastest pace since 2023.

The Financial Post also linked the inflation pressure to elevated oil prices, saying they were putting pressure on longer-dated Japanese government bond yields.

Trump said in a Fox News interview on Thursday that his patience with Iran was running out and that he agrees with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the need to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.

In the same remarks, Trump said it should reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which has traditionally carried about 20% of global oil and LNG flows.

Financial Post

The Al Jazeera net story tied the market mood to the risk of continued attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and to rising inflation as energy costs climb.

It also reported that Vandana Hari, founder of Vanda Insights, told Reuters that with Beijing's summit producing no tangible progress on Iran, the market has returned to focusing on stalemate and the closure of the strait.

The Financial Post framed the wider backdrop as the global energy crisis setting the stage for Donald Trump’s trip to China for a two-day summit with President Xi Jinping.

In Tehran, Folha de S.Paulo described how the economic impact of the war is showing up in food prices, with Mojtaba at a butcher shop in the Shoush neighborhood saying people now come to buy bones and that government subsidy is keeping his shop open.

“The fallout from the war in Iran continued to ripple across the global economy, complicating the outlook and fueling inflation angst”

Financial Post

Folha reported that meat prices have risen more than 40% since the start of the war and that foot traffic has fallen by half, while Saeid, 52 and unemployed, said: "Who is paying the price of this war is us."

The article said Iran's central bank data put overall inflation at 73.5% and food and beverages inflation at 115%.

It also reported that in March Iran's Labor Minister Ahmad Meydari announced a 60% increase in the country's minimum wage, from 103 million rials per month to 166 million rials per month.

Folha added that the rial trades at about 1.9 million per US dollar and that Iran's Welfare Organization said it would distribute electronic vouchers for about 87 million people to shop at designated stores.