By Caitlin McCabe
Oil and natural-gas prices surged Thursday after the latest round of attacks on Middle Eastern energy facilities stoked fears of a full-blown energy crisis.
Futures for European natural-gas prices rocketed after Qatar said that Iranian strikes caused extensive damage to its Ras Laffan, the site of the world's largest liquefied natural gas plant. Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, briefly touched $119 a barrel before paring gains, but remained about 5% higher on Thursday morning.
U.S. stocks opened lower, putting them on track for a second day of sharp declines after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell dimmed hopes of an interest-rate cut this year on Wednesday. The Nasdaq composite led losses with a 1.2% drop Thursday morning.
Stocks in Europe and Asia--regions that rely heavily on oil and gas from the Middle East--also fell, with the Stoxx Europe 600 on pace to erase its gains for the year so far. Stock indexes in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea slid.
Gold tumbled below $4,600 a troy ounce, putting it on track for its sixth decline in seven sessions.
Government bond yields around the world headed higher, with the latest energy-price jump exacerbating fears about inflation. The 10-year Treasury yield continued to rise past 4.28%.
The European Central Bank and its counterparts in the U.K., Switzerland and Japan followed the Fed in holding interest rates steady Thursday, but policymakers signaled they're prepared to hike rates if the conflict drags on.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 19, 2026 09:36 ET (13:36 GMT)
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