Iran War LIVE: Global Concern Over Rising Oil Prices, Bahrain’s Bapco Energies Declares Force Majeure

Iran War LIVE: IDF troops have entered southern Lebanon for a limited ground raid targeting Hezbollah infrastructure and terrorists. The operation, preceded by a wave of airstrikes, is intended to provide an additional layer of protection for residents in northern Israel. 

Iran War LIVE: According to Israeli media, U.S. Envoys Kushner and Witkoff have cancelled their scheduled visit to Israel after announcing their arrival.
 

Iran War LIVE: India does not expect inflation to rise substantially from a jump in global crude oil prices triggered by the war in the Middle ‌East, as domestic price levels remain near the lower end of the central bank’s tolerance band, ⁠Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday (March 9, 2026).

Global oil prices, including India’s crude basket, ‌had been falling for a year until conflict escalated in the region on February 28, Sitharaman said in a written reply in parliament.

The Indian ⁠basket rose from $69.01 a barrel at end-February to $80.16 a barrel by March 2, the reply said.

The government said ‌the impact on consumer prices would be limited for now.

“Given that India’s inflation is near the lower bound, the impact on inflation is not estimated to be substantial at this point,” Ms. Sitharaman said.

January’s retail inflation was 2.75%, close to the bottom of the Reserve Bank of ‌India’s 2%–6% target range.

The RBI’s October 2025 Monetary Policy Report estimated that a 10% increase in crude prices could lift inflation by about 30 basis points, ⁠assuming full pass-through to domestic fuel rates, she said.

“However, the ⁠medium-term impact of the global crude oil price rise on inflation depends on several factors, including exchange ‌rate movements, global demand and supply situation, monetary policy transmission, the state of general inflation, and the extent of the indirect pass-through,” Ms. Sitharaman added

Iran War LIVE: The escalating crisis in West Asia has dramatically changed the outlook for global central banks, with the huge supply shock posing a difficult trade-off between underpinning ‌growth and countering inflation.

For emerging Asian central banks, cutting interest rates has become a risky bet not just because of the added price pressure from higher fuel costs, but also the risk of triggering ⁠capital outflows through worsening terms of trade with the U.S.

The Reserve Bank of India, for one, expects to focus more on supporting growth by keeping interest rates low, sources have told Reuters. But a rush towards the safe-haven dollar, which is intensifying from the U.S.-Iran war, may force it ‌to ramp up intervention to prop up its weakening currency.

Thailand and the Philippines may be forced to reverse their dovish monetary policy stance, even as rising fuel costs hurt their economies, said Toru Nishihama, chief emerging market economist ‌at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute in Tokyo.

Iran War LIVE: European shares slumped to their lowest in over two months ⁠on Monday (March 9, 2026), as surging oil prices exacerbated inflation worries with the U.S.-Israeli war on ‌Iran showing no signs of slowing down.

The pan-European benchmark fell for ‌the third session, down 2.34% at 585.08 ‌points ⁠by 0810 GMT. The index ⁠fell 5.5% last week, marking its worst week in nearly a year.

Oil surged more than 25% with prices just ‌shy of $120 a barrel, as concerns over drawn-out shipping and supply disruptions gripped markets due to an expanding conflict ‌in the Middle East.

Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father, Ali Khamenei, as supreme leader, signalling ⁠that hardliners remain firmly in charge in Tehran.

In Europe, banks, which were in the ‌epicentre of the sell-off last week, extended declines with a 3.2% fall.

Tech stocks fell 3.1%.

Carriers Lufthansa and Air France KLM fell 3.9% and 5.2%, respectively.

On the flip side, higher crude prices pushed ‌energy 0.1% higher, while defence firm Leonardo added 1.4%.

Attention now turns to comments by ECB President Christine Lagarde, while board ⁠member Piero Cipollone and euro zone ⁠finance ministers are due to speak at the Eurogroup meeting later in the day.

Data ‌showed German industrial orders fell more than expected month-on-month in January.

Iran War LIVE: European gas prices soared as much as 30% on Monday (March 9, 2026) as the West Asia conflict roiled energy markets and spurred fears of prolonged supply disruptions.

The Dutch TTF natural gas contract, considered the European benchmark, jumped to 69.50 euros before paring gains slightly.

Despite the surge, the price remained below the level it reached in 2022 at the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

Iran War LIVE: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty crashed over 3% on Monday (March 9, 2026) as boiling crude oil prices and a weak trend in global equities due to worsening situation in West Asia dragged the stock markets sharply lower.

Besides, unabated foreign fund outflows also weighed heavily on investors’ sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex crashed 2,494.35 points or 3.16% to 76,424.55. The 50-share NSE Nifty tumbled 752.65 points or 3.07% to 23,697.80.

All the 30-Sensex firms were trading lower. State Bank of India, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Maruti, InterGlobe Aviation and Adani Ports were among the major laggards

Iran War LIVE: Tehran is moving to restrict – or effectively close – the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, as part of the latest escalation in the war involving Iran.

Markets have reacted to the global impact of closing this incredibly busy shipping channel, focusing on the risk to oil and gas flows, the prospect of higher crude prices and the inflationary pressures that would follow.

But it captures only part of the story. A sustained disruption of traffic through Hormuz would not simply constitute an energy crisis.

It would also represent a fertiliser shock (where prices go up dramatically and supply goes down) – and, by extension, a direct risk to global food security. -- Conversation

Iran War LIVE: Indonesian ‌Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said ⁠on Monday (March 9, 2026) the ‌country’s fuel ‌supply ‌is adequate ⁠and ⁠there is no plan to ‌raise subsidised fuel prices until ‌Eid al-Fitr, state news agency ⁠Antara reported.

Eid ‌al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, ‌falls at the end of ⁠next week.

Iran War LIVE: Oil prices spiked near $120 per barrel before falling back slightly on Monday (March 9, 2026) as the Iran war intensified, threatening production and shipping in the Middle East and pummelling financial markets.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, surged to $119.50 per barrel but later was trading at $112.98.

West Texas Intermediate, the light, sweet crude oil produced in the United States, spiked at $119.48 per barrel but fell back to $110.17.

Oil prices have surged as the war, now in its second week, ensnares countries and places that are critical to the production and movement of oil and gas from the Persian Gulf.

Roughly 15 million barrels of crude oil — about 20% of the world’s oil — typically are shipped every day through the Strait of Hormuz, according to independent research firm Rystad Energy.

Iran War LIVE:‌ Indonesia will ⁠absorb the shock ‌from ‌oil ‌price ⁠increases ⁠using its ‌state budget, its Finance ‌Minister Purbaya ⁠Yudhi Sadewa ‌said on ‌Monday (March 9, 2026).

Iran War LIVE: Japan’s Nikkei index of stocks closed down more than 5% and South Korea’s Kospi by 6% on Monday (March 9, 2026), on the back of turmoil in West Asia.

At the end of trading, the Nikkei 225 was 5.2% lower at 52,728.72 points. The Kospi ended the day 5.96% lower at 5,251.87 points.

Iran War LIVE: Vietnam is considering a plan to scrap tariffs on fuel imports, the government said, as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran disrupts oil supplies and pushes prices to their highest level since 2022.

The Ministry of Finance said on Sunday (March 8) it had drafted a decree that would slash import tax rates to zero on some petroleum products to “help stabilise the domestic market and ensure national energy security”.

“If the conflict continues and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz persists, alternative supplies on the international market will become scarce and risk driving prices up,” it said in a statement, referring to the waterway through which a fifth of global crude usually passes.

Iran War LIVE: G7 Finance Ministers to discuss coordinated emergency oil reserve release amid surging prices and market instability.

Iran War LIVE: Bahrain’s state oil company declared force majeure on Monday (March 9, 2026) for its shipments after an Iranian attack set its refinery ablaze.

The state-run Bahrain News Agency carried the announcement of the force majeure, a legal manoeuvre that releases a company from its contractual obligations because of extraordinary circumstances.

It said the company’s operations “have been affected by the ongoing regional conflict in West Asia and the recent attack on its refinery complex.” It insisted that local demand could still be met.

Iran War LIVE: Japan will consider steps to cushion ‌the economic blow from rising fuel costs caused ⁠by the conflict in West Asia, including curbing gasoline prices, Prime Minister ‌Sanae Takaichi said on Monday (March 9, 2026).

“Many people are worried ‌about rising gasoline prices,” Ms Takaichi ‌told ⁠Parliament. “Taking this into account, ⁠the government has been considering since last week what steps it can take.”

“We’re considering steps ‌to avoid gasoline prices from rising to levels intolerable for the public,” she said, adding that ‌such measures could be funded by tapping reserves.

Ms Takaichi ruled out overhauling the ⁠government’s draft fiscal 2026 budget, which is now being deliberated in ‌Parliament, or compiling a stopgap budget to fund the measures.

Iran War LIVE: Governments in Asia are scrambling to limit the impact on economies and consumers ‌from the widening Iran war, which fuelled a record surge in oil prices on Monday (March 9, 2026) after key producers cut output and Tehran signalled that hardliners will remain in ⁠charge. In South Korea, which buys 70% of its oil from the Middle East, President Lee Jae Myung said Seoul would cap fuel prices for the first time in nearly 30 years and warned against panic buying.

Speaking at an ‌emergency meeting, Lee called the crisis “a significant burden on our economy, which is highly dependent on global trade and energy imports from the Middle East.” A senior Japanese parliament ‌member said on Sunday that the government had instructed a national oil reserve storage site ‌to prepare ⁠for a possible crude release, although the country’s chief cabinet secretary said on Monday ⁠(March 9) that no decision had been made to release stockpiles. Japan imports around 95% of its oil from West Asia. It has reserves to cover 354 days of consumption. Elsewhere, Vietnam removed import tariffs on fuels and Bangladesh shut universities to conserve electricity and fuel, while China last week asked refiners ‌to halt fuel exports and try to cancel shipments already committed.

Iran War LIVE: U.S. President Donald Trump tried to tamp down concern about rising U.S. gasoline prices, which were up 11% for the week on Friday (March 6, 2026), while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on him to sell oil ‌from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. 

“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace,” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social on ⁠Sunday night. “ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!” 

Oil jumped 25%, with Brent on track for a record one-day gain, after Iran on Monday named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, while OPEC ‌producers Kuwait and Iraq cut oil output during the weekend as the crucial Strait of Hormuz remained effectively shut.

Iran War LIVE: Bangladesh will close all universities from Monday (March 9, 2026), ‌bringing forward the Eid al-Fitr holidays as part of emergency measures to conserve electricity and fuel.

Iran War LIVE: Vietnam is planning to ‌remove import tariffs on fuels to ensure supplies amid disruptions, the government said, adding that the measure is expected ⁠to last until the end of April.

Iran War LIVE: The Japanese government instructed a national ⁠oil reserve storage site to prepare for a possible release of crude, Akira Nagatsuma, a ‌member of the Centrist Reform Alliance opposition party, told Reuters on Sunday (March 8, 2026).

Details such as the timing of the release remain unclear, Nagatsuma said

Iran War LIVE: South Korean President ‌Lee Jae Myung said on ‌Monday (March 9, 2026) ⁠that authorities would cap domestic fuel ⁠prices for the first time in nearly 30 years. The country will also look for sources of energy beyond supplies ‌shipped via the Strait of Hormuz, and a 100 trillion won ($67 billion) market-stabilisation programme should be expanded if needed, he ‌added.

Iran War LIVE: Thick smoke was seen ‌rising from the direction ⁠of the Bapco oil refinery ‌in Bahrain on ‌Monday, ‌a witness ⁠said.

Smoke ⁠surrounded the refinery after the government ‌earlier said injuries and damage were sustained ‌in the Sitra area as a result ⁠of an Iranian ‌drone attack, the witness added.

Bapco is Bahrain’s ‌main oil refinery and a key ⁠facility in the country’s ⁠energy sector.

Iran War LIVE: Gold fell on Monday (March 9, 2026), as a stronger U.S. dollar weighed on ⁠the greenback-priced bullion, while higher energy costs fuelled inflation concerns and further dimmed the prospects for near-term reductions in interest rates.

Spot gold was ‌down 1.5% at $5,091.02 per ounce, as of 0233 GMT, after falling more than 2% earlier in the ‌session. U.S. gold futures for April delivery were down ‌1.2% ⁠at $5,097.40.

The dollar rose to a more-than-three-month high, making bullion ⁠more expensive for holders of other currencies.

The U.S. 10-year Treasury yields climbed to a one-month high, raising the cost of holding non-yielding gold.

“Gold is on the back foot today ‌despite the market tumult, with triple-digit oil prices boosting the dollar on inflation fears and scaled back rate-cutting expectations,” said Tim Waterer, KCM Trade chief market analyst.

“Much of gold’s price rise over the last 12 months was predicated ‌on a dovish outlook for U.S. interest rates, but given the inflation risk presented by $100 per barrel oil, rate cuts are no longer a given and gold has repriced accordingly,” Waterer said.

Investors expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to keep interest rates steady at the end of its two-day meeting on ‌March 18, as per CME Group’s FedWatch tool. The odds of a June hold, which were below 43% last week, climbed to more than 51%.

Bullion tends to thrive in ⁠a low-interest-rate environment as it is a non-yielding asset.

Raising geopolitical tensions ⁠in the Middle East, Iran on Monday named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father, Ali Khamenei, as supreme leader, ‌signalling that hardliners remain firmly in charge.

Spot silver dropped 1.5% to $83.09 per ounce. Spot platinum fell 1.1% to $2,111.04, and palladium was down 1.4% at $1,603.25.

Iran War LIVE: Hong Kong stocks hit six-month lows on Monday (March 9, 2026) while China shares wiped out this year’s gains as ‌the escalating war in West Asia sent oil prices soaring and dampened risk ⁠appetite in markets across Asia.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 3% by the lunch break, with energy the ‌only sector to rise.

China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index fell 2%, having hit the lowest level ‌since December, while the Shanghai Composite Index ‌lost ⁠1%.

Meanwhile, China’s yuan hit the weakest ⁠level in a month against the rebounding dollar. Asian equities tumbled on prospects that the West Asia war could leave consumers and businesses worldwide facing weeks ‌or months of higher fuel prices, threatening an already fragile global economy.

“The war has reduced risk appetite,” Deng Lijun, strategist at Huajin Securities, told ‌investors in a road show.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty, especially regarding how long the conflict will last.” Investors largely ignored data ⁠showing China’s consumer inflation accelerated to the highest in more than three years on the back of ‌the Lunar New Year holiday, while producer deflation persisted. Sentiment was not helped by reports that a summit this month between U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping was unlikely to yield a breakthrough in bilateral ties. Meanwhile, the ongoing annual ‌parliament meeting in Beijing suggested China was in no hurry to roll out major fiscal or monetary stimulus.

Chipmakers, healthcare companies and property developers were ⁠among the worst performers in Hong Kong.

In China, resource-related ⁠sectors such as energy , coal and cement rose, but tech shares tumbled.

However, Huajin Securities’ Deng ‌said that the long-term uptrend of China’s stock market had not ended, citing policy support and improving corporate earnings.

Iran War LIVE: Shares of Indian refiners slumped on Monday (March 9, 2026), as the widening U.S.-Israeli war with Iran ‌propelled Brent crude prices toward $120 per barrel — a near four-year high — threatening their ⁠near-term earnings.

State-run Indian Oil dipped 6.6%, Hindustan Petroleum slid 7.5%, and Bharat Petroleum dropped 7.1%, and were ‌headed for their steepest falls in more than a year.

Reliance Industries ‌lost 2%.

UBS said oil marketing companies are “negatively leveraged” to the crude spike as they ‌sell more diesel and gasoline than they produce, estimating sales-to-production ratios at 1:2 for IOC and BPCL and 2:2 for HPCL.

The ‌brokerage cut IOC and BPCL to “neutral” and BPCL to “sell” from “buy”.

The rout dragged the Nifty oil and gas ⁠index down 2.7% and the energy index 2.1% lower, while the benchmark Nifty 50 slid ‌2.8%. The oil and gas index has fallen 6.6% since the U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran on February 27.

Citi warned that refiners’ earnings will hinge on how long the geopolitical shock lasts, flagging risks from ‌a potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz and any shutdown of Qatar’s LNG output - each supplying about half of India’s ⁠crude and LNG imports.

Any disruption beyond the one ⁠month currently priced in could sharply tighten LNG markets, with low European ‌storage for October 2026 raising the risk of “non-linear” price spikes, the brokerage added.

Iran War LIVE: The U.S. has urged India to buy Russian oil already floating at sea and redirect it to Indian refineries to “tamp down” fears of supply shortages and price spikes amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, Energy Secretary Chris Wright has said.

However, the move, he said, is a short-term, pragmatic effort to stabilise the market and did not signal any change in Washington’s policy towards Russia.

In an interview with CNN on Sunday (March 8, 2026), Mr Wright said he, along with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, had spoken to Indian authorities about buying Russian crude cargoes currently waiting to be unloaded at Chinese refineries.

Iran War LIVE: IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva ‌on Monday (March 9, 2026) warned of inflation ⁠risks from the Middle East conflict, ‌saying a 10% increase ‌in oil ‌prices, if ⁠persistent through ⁠most of the year, would result in a 40-basis-point ‌increase in global inflation.

“We are seeing resilience ‌tested again by the new conflict in the ⁠Middle East,” Ms Georgieva said, ‌speaking in a symposium hosted by Japan’s finance ministry.

“My advice to policymakers ‌in this new global environment is to think of ⁠the unthinkable and ⁠prepare for it,” she ‌said.

Iran War LIVE: The rupee plummeted 46 paise to near its all-time intra-day low of 92.28 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Monday (March 9, 2026) as global crude oil prices shot up and the greenback strengthened amid the worsening situation in the Middle East.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by a staggering 25.68% at $116.5 per barrel in futures trade as the war between U.S.-Israel and Iran intensified.

A big surge in FII outflows and a crash at the domestic equity market in morning trade put further pressure in the local unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 92.22 against the US dollar before declining further to 92.28, down 46 paise from its previous close. The rupee had hit an all-time intra-day low of 92.35 on March 4.

The rupee depreciated 18 paise against the US dollar on Friday to close at 91.82 against the American currency.

Iran War LIVE: The price of the main U.S. benchmark for oil surged more than 30% on Monday over concerns that the Middle East war could create prolonged supply disruptions.

At 0230 GMT, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was up 30.04 per cent at $118.21 per barrel, before easing slightly, while Brent Crude was 27.54 per cent higher at $118.22.

Iran War LIVE: Investors in the Indian stock market sold big at open, pushing the benchmark indices down by 3% on March 9, 2026.

Nifty opened at 23,868.05 points, dow,n and Sensex at 77,056.75 points. As of 9:37 a.m, they’re trading at 23,769 points and 76,715.44 points. These levels are amongst the lowest in nearly 6 months.

Barring a few hundred stocks, all of them are declining since opening at 9:00 a.m

Iran War LIVE: Oil prices eclipsed $114 per barrel for the first time since 2022 on Monday (March 9, 2026) as the Iran war intensified, threatening production and shipping in West Asia.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, surged past $114 after trading resumed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. That was up 23% from its Friday (March 6) closing price of $92.69.