It was a sea of red on the ASX 200 on Thursday as a jump in oil prices “smashed” the Australian sharemarket, leading to one of the weakest days of trading for the year.

The Australian sharemarket slumped to a six-week low on Tuesday, with investors bracing for higher interest rates as the Middle East conflict continues to push up fuel costs.

Rising oil prices have worsened worries about the high inflation weighing on consumers and companies with the Reserve Bank under increasing pressure to raise rates.