Since the Israel was attacked by Hamas terrorists on 7 October the conflict has sparked an economic “earthquake” which will have repercussions for the Middle East and the global markets.
Jihad Azour, IMF Director of the Middle East and Central Asia department has warned that since the Israeli Prime Minister declared that they are at war with Hamas this has jolted global markets.
Azour said in a panel discussion at the IMF conference in Morocco, “It will be very difficult to improve economically and financially because her are several key questions that we still don’t have answers to.
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“The oil prices have already increased by $5 as of the beginning of the week… while other markets did not move much it would be very challenging because of the magnitude, the speed and the unknowns to have a clear reading of the short-term and medium-term, but it is big, it is an earthquake.”
Oil prices have risen since the attacks and the ongoing conflict, but for now they remain low compared to what the price was a few months back, he said.
Benyamin Netanyahu’s announcement that they are at “war” affected the global markets causing gold and oil prices to dramatically rise along with a stronger US dollar.
When the markets opened on Monday investors reacted quickly to the conflict which saw gold and crude oil soar, but for now they have levelled off.
This was then followed by a slump in airline stocks with European airlines such as British Airways and Lufthansa and the US Delta, United and American Airlines, the travel situation is volatile, however prices have recovered.
On Wednesday British Airways suspended all flights to Israel for safety reasons after a flight was forced to turn around after the airport in Tel Aviv was bombed by Hamas rockets.
British Airways told Sky News, “Following the latest assessment of the situation we’re suspending our flights to and from Tel Aviv.
“We’re contacting customers booked to travel to or from Tel Aviv to apologise for the inconvenience and offer options including a full refund and rebooking with another airline or with British Airways at a later date.
“We continue to monitor the situation in the region closely.”
