Oil prices plummet over 13%, Asia-Pacific stock markets rebound

Ask AI · What is the connection between the rebound in Asia-Pacific stock markets and the drop in oil prices and a weaker U.S. dollar?

【Global Times Finance, compiled report】On April 8, oil prices fell below $100 per barrel. Brent crude fell by $14.84, down 13.6%, to $94.43 per barrel; WTI crude fell by $16.13, down 14.3%, to $96.82 per barrel.

According to Reuters, citing IG analyst Tony Sycamore’s view: “This is a good start and could pave the way for a more sustained reopening—but there are still many uncertainties that need to be addressed.”

Oil prices rose more than 50% month over month in March, setting the steepest monthly gain in history. This has led markets to pay attention to how high oil prices may transmit to inflation. The view is that the demand shock from high oil prices has not fully manifested yet, but inflation transmission pressure continues to build.

After the price drop on the 8th, the WTI crude oil price maintained a premium over Brent crude. This reversed the usual price pattern: compared with Brent’s June delivery futures contract, the May delivery futures contract for WTI had a higher futures price for the earlier-delivery contract.

Notably, on the morning of April 8, the stock markets in both South Korea and Japan opened higher and then climbed strongly. As of the time of writing, South Korea’s composite index was up more than 5%, and the Nikkei 225 was up more than 4%. Samsung Electronics’ share price rose by more than 8%, and SK hynix rose by more than 9%. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index also climbed by more than 2%. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index continued to weaken, slipping below the 99 level for the first time since March 23; the intraday decline was 0.74%. (Wen Hui)