Oil price surges higher on Syria fears as markets slideAugust 28, 2013 - 16:28 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The possibility of military action against Syria has continued to shake up markets. While the price of oil surged higher on Wednesday, August 28 share markets have fallen, BBC News said. The price of gold has also climbed, as risk-averse investors look for safe-havens, while shares in airlines dropped on the looming threat of higher fuel costs. Brent crude oil hit a six-month high above $117 a barrel, and has risen by 4% this week. US crude oil touched its highest price since May 2011, rising to $110.17 a barrel. International Airlines Group, the owner of British Airways, saw its share price fall around 5%, while Easyjet's share price also fell, by 4%. European share markets all fell on Wednesday morning. The UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.4% while Germany's Dax dropped 1.0% and the Cac40 in Paris fell 0.2%. Asian stock markets fell on Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Australia's ASX 200 all seeing losses of more than 1%. Syria itself is not a major oil producer, but analysts said that the prospect of further instability in the Middle East was worrying investors. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Armenia, Turkey discuss restoration of historic bridge The meeting took place on May 17 in Ashgabat on the sidelines of an international conference of ministers of culture. EU welcomes Armenia-Azerbaijan “progress” The EU has welcomed “progress” made in the framework of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation process. Belarus opposition leader slams Lukashenko for Karabakh trip Belarusian opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has harshly criticized the visit of Lukashenko to Karabakh. Mkhitaryan raises arrest of former Karabakh leaders in Azerbaijan Inter Milan star Henrikh Mkhitaryan has shared a news story about the extension of the arrest of former Karabakh leaders. |