Oil rout gives Asian currencies some breathing room – if Middle East ceasefire holds
But lower prices alone may not be enough to drive a sustained recovery, analysts say
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[SINGAPORE] Asian currencies could see a modest rebound in the coming weeks if a fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran holds, analysts told The Business Times.
Crude oil prices – which had surged since the conflict began on Feb 28 – posted their biggest one-day drop since April 2020 on Wednesday (Apr 8), falling back below the US$100 a barrel mark after news of a two-week ceasefire and the resumption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
But the situation remains volatile. Less than a day later, an Iranian news agency reported that oil traffic through the key chokepoint had been halted again, hours after tankers were allowed to pass, following Israeli strikes on Lebanon.
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