Global oil and gold prices have jumped, while shares have slumped after US officials said an Israeli missile had struck Iran.
In Asia trade on Friday morning, Brent crude rose by more than 3% to around $90 a barrel, while gold was trading close to a new record high above $2,400 an ounce.
Benchmark stock indexes in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea also fell after the news.
Investors have been closely watching Israel’s reaction to Iran’s drone and missile attack on the country last weekend.
They are concerned that a worsening conflict in the Middle East could disrupt oil supplies.
Heightened tensions in the region have already affected shipping through the Strait of Hormuz between Oman and Iran.
It is a crucial shipping route, as about 20% of the world’s total oil supply passes through it.
Members of the oil producers’ cartel Opec – Saudi Arabia, Iran, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq – send most of the oil they export through the Strait.
Iran is the seventh largest oil producer in the world, according to the US Energy Information Administration, and the third-largest member of Opec.
In stock markets, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was trading more than 3% lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was around 2% lower and the Kospi in South Korea fell by about 2.8%.
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