Skyrocketing, then plunging! Hormuz, sudden major news!

【Introduction】European stock markets plummeted, gold tumbled, silver crashed, and oil prices surged then sharply declined!

Chinese Fund Reporter Taylor

Brothers and sisters, after the Asia-Pacific markets collapsed, European stock markets also fell. Except for oil, all assets are dropping!

On the afternoon of March 19, European stock markets opened with a sharp decline, with major countries’ stock indices falling around 2%.

European markets are also focusing on the day’s central bank actions, as the European Central Bank, Bank of England, Sveriges Riksbank, and Swiss National Bank will announce their monetary policy decisions.

The market generally expects that major central banks will hold steady, observing the developments of the Iran war and assessing its impact on regional economic growth and inflation prospects.

Inflation concerns are overshadowing global markets, leading to sell-offs in gold and silver. Spot silver once plunged 7%, and gold fell over 2%.

Oil markets are highly volatile. According to semi-official Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA), Iran’s parliament is drafting a bill requiring ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz to pay a “security transit fee.” The report cites a Tehran lawmaker but does not specify the current stage of the bill or disclose the exact fee amount.

Additionally, the Saudi Defense Ministry stated that a drone fell at the Samref refinery, with damage assessments ongoing. Samref is located in the port city of Yanbu and is jointly owned by Saudi Aramco and ExxonMobil. The Saudi Defense Ministry also reported intercepting a ballistic missile headed toward Yanbu port.

Today’s attack on a refinery in Yanbu marks the first time Saudi Aramco facilities along the Red Sea coast have been targeted in this round of conflicts. The refinery, built in partnership between Saudi Aramco and ExxonMobil, was previously named by Iran as a retaliatory target for attacks on its natural gas infrastructure.

Saudi national oil giant Aramco is rushing to transport crude oil from the eastern oil fields to the western Red Sea coast for export and refining. The Samref refinery is one of Aramco’s key facilities used to supply diesel and other critical fuels to European buyers.

However, subsequent reports indicated that Aramco temporarily halted crude oil loading at the important Red Sea port of Yanbu after the attack near Iran but has since resumed loading.

Since the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, Yanbu has become Saudi Arabia’s only export route to global markets and has developed into a significant logistics hub.

Additionally, Bitcoin briefly fell below the $70,000 mark. Amid renewed attacks on Middle Eastern energy infrastructure, falling stock markets, and soaring energy prices, risk aversion has increased.

Editor: Huang Mei

Proofreader: Ji Yuan

Reviewer: Mu Yu