ASX Set to Rise as Oil Prices Soar Amid Middle East Tensions
The Australian sharemarket is poised to open higher on Thursday, while oil prices have surged due to escalating Middle East tensions.
Futures point to a gain of 37 points or 0.4 per cent at the open after the ASX rose by 1 per cent on Wednesday following better-than-expected inflation figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, with three members dissenting in favour of a quarter-point hike, as they weighed persistently high inflation and energy price spikes caused by the Iran war.
Action was strong in the oil market, where Brent crude jumped 7.5 per cent to $US90.38 per barrel for September delivery after fighting resumed between the US and Iran raised worries about global oil supplies.