{"id":79026,"date":"2026-03-20T16:17:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T05:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.icmarkets.com.au\/blog\/?p=79026"},"modified":"2026-04-08T16:42:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T06:42:59","slug":"friday-20th-march-2026-markets-mixed-as-middle-east-tensions-disrupt-energy-supply-and-rattle-investors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.icmarkets.com.au\/blog\/friday-20th-march-2026-markets-mixed-as-middle-east-tensions-disrupt-energy-supply-and-rattle-investors\/","title":{"rendered":"Friday 20th March 2026: Markets Mixed as Middle East Tensions Disrupt Energy Supply and Rattle Investors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Global Markets:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u00a0Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 3.38%, Shanghai Composite up 0.15% Hang Seng down 0.24% ASX down 0.47%<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Commodities : Gold at $4,735.44 (2.83%) Silver at $74.343 (4.42%), Brent Oil at $107.15 (-1.45%), WTI Oil at $93.79 (-1.85%)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.272, UK 10-year yield at 4.8480, Germany 10-year yield at 2.9524<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">News &amp; Data:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>(GBP) Official Bank Rate\u00a0 3.75%\u00a0 to 3.75%\u00a0 expected<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>(USD) Unemployment Claims\u00a0 205K\u00a0 to 215K\u00a0 expected<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>(EUR) Main Refinancing Rate\u00a0 2.15%\u00a0 to 2.15%\u00a0 expected<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Markets Update:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Friday after a volatile Wall Street session, as escalating tensions in the Middle East and energy supply disruptions unsettled investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Iran struck a major gas facility in Qatar on Thursday, retaliating against Israel\u2019s earlier attacks on its South Pars field. QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi said the damage could cut 17% of the nation\u2019s LNG export capacity for up to five years. The continued exchange of attacks on critical oil and gas infrastructure pushed energy prices higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>U.S. natural gas rose 1.5% to $3.112 per MMBtu, while gasoline futures climbed nearly 1% to a four-year high. However, oil prices pulled back, with Brent crude falling 2% to $106.45 per barrel and WTI declining 1.56% to $94.64. Saudi Arabia warned prices could surge above $180 if disruptions persist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Precious metals were also hit, with gold and silver dropping sharply before trimming losses. Ed Yardeni noted the sell-off in gold suggests panic selling, but expects stabilization soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leaders signaled restraint, with U.S. President Donald Trump ruling out ground troop deployment and Israel indicating it would avoid further strikes on Iranian energy assets. Meanwhile, major U.S.-aligned nations pledged support to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Regionally, markets were mixed: Australia and Hong Kong declined, while China and South Korea advanced. Wall Street closed lower overnight, though futures showed modest recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Upcoming Events:<br \/><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>12:30 PM GMT &#8211; CAD Core Retail Sales m\/m<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>12:30 PM GMT &#8211; CAD Retail Sales m\/m<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Global Markets: News &amp; Data: Markets Update: &nbsp; Asia-Pacific markets traded [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":79441,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[196,215,339],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fundamental-analysis","category-market-analysis","category-recent-posts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.icmarkets.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.icmarkets.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.icmarkets.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icmarkets.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icmarkets.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79026"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.icmarkets.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79027,"href":"https:\/\/www.icmarkets.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79026\/revisions\/79027"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icmarkets.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.icmarkets.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icmarkets.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icmarkets.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}