BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mixed in Asia and U.S. futures declined Monday on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve may raise interest rates soon. Oil prices surged about 3% after U.S. forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz, marking their first military action in a month. The Trump administration just days earlier had shifted its focus to economic pressure, and a return to open conflict would be dangerous for the region.Brent crude, the international standard, was up 2.9% at $90.62 per barrel early Monday. U.S. benchmark crude oil jumped 2.7% to $85.62 per barrel. “The Middle East had finally gone quiet enough for oil traders to start sanding some of the war premium out of crude. Then Sunday arrived, with a reminder that quiet in the Strait of Hormuz is not the same as peace,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
Markets in Asia fell following a speech Friday by Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh that reinforced expectations the U.S. central bank will do what is needed, such as raising rates, to bring inflation down despite possible short-term pain for the economy. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1%.
