Escalation in the Middle East

Stock market in decline – oil and gas becoming expensive

The war in the Middle East is also causing uncertainty on the stock markets.(Bild: AP/Arne Dedert)

The US attacks on Iran are having a direct impact on the financial markets: share prices are falling rapidly, while precious metal prices are rising sharply. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is also causing oil prices to climb ever higher.

The escalation in the Middle East triggered severe turbulence on the international financial markets at the beginning of the week. Among other things, Tehran restricted shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz – one of the most important chokepoints in global energy trade.

Stock prices fall by a good two percent
On Monday, the DAX lost 2.3 percent to 24,697 points in the first minutes of trading. On Friday, the German benchmark index had risen close to its record high of mid-January. The MDAX, which tracks medium-sized companies, lost 2.7 percent to 30,706 points at the start of the week. The Eurozone's leading index, the EuroStoxx 50, fell by 2.3 percent. On the Paris stock exchange, prices fell by 2.36 percent. In London, however, the FTSE index was initially down only 0.93 percent.

War drives up gold prices
As expected, gold prices rose significantly in the first minutes of trading on Monday due to the escalation in the Middle East. The price of silver also rose sharply. In early trading, one troy ounce (approximately 31.1 grams) of gold cost up to $5,393 (€4,568.40), 2.2 percent more than on Friday. The gold price thus extended its gains from last week and is slowly approaching the record high of almost $5,600 at the end of January.

The war in the Middle East is also causing uncertainty on the stock markets.(Bild: AP/Arne Dedert)

Gold price fluctuates
In the weeks following the peak, the price temporarily slipped below the $4,500 mark before recovering strongly in recent weeks. Since the end of 2025, the price of gold has climbed by almost a quarter, after recording its highest annual gain since 1979 with a 65 percent increase last year. 

Oil price at its highest since early 2025
The oil price has also been significantly affected by the conflicts in the Middle East. A barrel of North Sea Brent crude rose 14 percent in the first minutes of trading, reaching US$82.37, its highest price since January 2025. The price of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also rose by double digits, as reported by Die Zeit.

Experts expect further increases
Around 20 percent of global oil shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz every day. Any disruption in the strait can cause energy prices to rise and destabilize international markets. Against the backdrop of the escalating war with Iran, experts expect prices to rise further by up to $100 or more.

Airline share prices also plummet
The escalating conflict has also caused the share prices of Asian airlines to plummet. Shares in Cathay Pacific, Qantas Airways, Singapore Airlines, and Japan Airlines fell by more than five percent. Qantas shares fell 10.4 percent at one point to their lowest level in ten months. Shares in other Asian airlines such as ANA Holdings, Chinese airlines Air China, China Southern and China Eastern, and Malaysian AirAsia X also lost at least four percent. Some major hubs such as Dubai and Doha remain closed, causing global disruptions to air traffic.