SYDNEY: Shares in Asia fell broadly on Thursday as oil prices roared 9 percent past $100 a barrel on reports of more ships struck in Gulf waters and terminal shutdowns — a jump that could rapidly stoke inflation and push global borrowing costs higher.
Investors took little comfort from the International Energy Agency’s plan to release 400 million barrels of oil from its reserves, the largest such move in its history. As part of that, the US said it would release 172 million barrels of oil from next week.
Brent crude futures jumped 9.2 percent to $100.37 a barrel, extending a rise of more than 4 percent overnight. US crude futures surged 8.1 percent to $94.26 a barrel.
Shares slid, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan falling 1.5 percent, while the Nikkei dropped 1.4 percent.
Chinese blue-chips lost 0.6 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index skidded 1.2 percent.
