By Ronnie Harui

Oil rose Thursday following attacks on energy infrastructure in the Middle East, while Asian equity markets fell on dimming hopes of interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were last 2.4% higher at $98.66 a barrel. Front-month Brent crude oil futures rose 3.2% to $110.84 a barrel after earlier touching $112.00 a barrel, the highest intraday level since March 9, ICE data showed.

Iranian strikes caused extensive damage to a major Qatar fuel hub, while Israel struck a large Iranian gas field shared with Qatar. Oil officials in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates evacuated some energy facilities after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it considered the sites to be "legitimate and prime targets."

"Israel and Iran have struck Iranian and wider Middle East energy assets, which were largely avoided earlier in the war, triggering a spike in oil," said Vishnu Varathan, head of macro research for Asia excluding Japan at Mizuho Securities (Singapore).

"This highlights a new order and durability of oil/energy risks as the war transitions, notably, from temporary disruptions to more lasting capacity destruction impairing the production and passage of oil and gas," Varathan added.

While the Fed left interest rates unchanged Wednesday as widely expected, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at his postmeeting news conference there was little to suggest that rate cuts were around the corner and instead emphasized how little room officials might have to ease monetary policy. Powell described the Fed's current policy stance as much closer to one that neither spurs nor slows growth, which would make rate cuts much harder to justify unless the economy weakens.

"This balance between economic growth and inflationary pressures places the Fed in a complex position," said Antonio Di Giacomo, senior market analyst at XS.com. "On the one hand, there is room for monetary easing; on the other, risks related to oil prices and geopolitics limit the pace and magnitude of any rate cuts," the analyst added.

Asian equities fell, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 2.7%, South Korea's Kospi declining 2.6% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index losing 1.8%.

Also, U.S. stock futures edged lower, with eMini Dow futures, eMini S&P 500 futures and eMini Nasdaq 100 futures each down 0.1%.

Write to Ronnie Harui at ronnie.harui@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 18, 2026 21:42 ET (01:42 GMT)

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