India is examining the United States’ move to initiate Section 301 investigations against a group of 16 trading partners and will take an appropriate position after analysing the legal and economic aspects, PTI reported citing an official on Friday.On March 11, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced probes into countries including India, China, Japan and the European Union to address practices such as forced labour and manufacturing overcapacity that Washington believes are hurting its domestic industry.The investigation spans multiple sectors such as steel, aluminium, automobiles, batteries, electronics, chemicals, machinery, semiconductors and solar modules.The countries and regions under review include China, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan, India and the 27-member EU bloc.“We are studying what is there in their note. We are looking at it from all perspectives. Both from the legal perspective as well as the economic angle which is being mentioned there. India is evaluating the documents,” the official said.The development comes after the US Supreme Court ruled against the tariffs imposed earlier during President Donald Trump’s tenure. Following the verdict, Trump had said Washington had other options to reintroduce tariff pressure.In line with that approach, the United States has imposed a 10 per cent tariff on all countries for a period of 150 days from February 24.The Section 301 process will assess whether measures such as industrial subsidies, expansion of state-backed manufacturing, operations of state-owned enterprises, barriers to market access, currency practices or weak domestic demand have contributed to excess global manufacturing capacity affecting US trade.If such practices are established, Washington could consider countermeasures including higher tariffs, quantitative restrictions or other trade curbs.Public consultations on the investigations will begin on March 17, when dockets open for submissions from companies, industry associations and governments.Sources indicated that the probe has a sharper focus on China due to concerns around forced labour and sector-specific overcapacity that could influence global trade flows.

Asian equity markets are facing heightened volatility after geopolitical tensions in the Middle East triggered sharp swings in oil prices and global risk sentiment, exposing uneven vulnerabilities across the region, according to a report by Moody’s Analytics.The report said the conflict sent “shock waves through global financial markets”, with Brent crude briefly surging to around $120 per barrel during early Asian trading before easing back toward $90. Equity markets whipsawed in response, but the reaction in Asia -“especially in South Korea– was more severe”.Trading halts were triggered on the KOSPI on March 4 and March 9 after the benchmark index dropped more than 8%, forcing temporary suspensions. Although equities have recovered some ground, the report noted that “trading conditions are unsettled, and investor sentiment is fragile”.

AI-driven surge left valuations stretched

Moody’s said the turbulence followed a strong rally in January and February led by technology-heavy markets such as South Korea and Taiwan, fuelled by optimism around artificial intelligence.Gains were concentrated in sectors linked to semiconductor demand, particularly memory chips where South Korean firms hold dominant global positions. By early 2026, the benchmark index had “nearly tripled relative to early 2025”, leaving valuations stretched and markets vulnerable to sudden risk-off moves.The geopolitical shock proved to be “exactly such a trigger”, the report said, as investors reassessed elevated valuations amid rising macroeconomic uncertainty.

Energy dependence amplifies downside risks

Developed Asian markets remain particularly sensitive to commodity price shocks because of their reliance on imported energy. Moody’s said economies such as South Korea, Japan and Taiwan import most of the oil and gas they consume, making them vulnerable to inflation risks and potential policy tightening if energy costs remain elevated.Foreign investors, aware of this sensitivity, sold South Korean equities, adding downward pressure. The report observed that “with valuations inflated by the AI-driven rally, South Korean equities recorded some of the steepest declines across the region”.Elsewhere in Asia-Pacific, equity declines were more contained. China and India saw pullbacks broadly in line with normal market swings, supported by structural buffers such as lower foreign investor participation and, in China’s case, capital controls.

Volatility set to stay elevated

Moody’s expects market volatility to remain high in the near term. Realised volatility across most Asia-Pacific markets has moved close to the upper end of historical ranges, comparable to levels seen during earlier episodes of global trade tensions.Under its baseline scenario, the report assumes the Middle East conflict will be limited in duration and commodity flows will eventually normalise, allowing oil and gas prices to fall back toward pre-conflict levels.However, it warned of downside risks if tensions persist. Sustained high energy prices could inflict greater economic damage across the region and trigger sharper equity sell-offs, particularly in markets where AI-driven optimism had already pushed valuations to elevated levels.

As the Iran war continues to escalate, all eyes are on the price of oil as fears mount over a global energy crisis.

Brent prices have spiked as high as about $120 per barrel and are currently around 40 per cent higher than when Israel and the United States attacked Iran on 28 February, starting the war.

In retaliation, Iran kept its stranglehold on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil transits on its way from the Persian Gulf to the open seas, crippling oil prices.

So how does this affect you? Oil prices, benchmarked globally by Brent crude from the North Sea, fluctuate based on supply and demand.

The longer that the price of oil is high, the more difficult it is to absorb those spikes, making it more likely people will feel the cost at home.

Beyond higher heating bills, rising oil costs increase manufacturing and transport expenses, inflating the prices of food and most other goods and services.

“You never know exactly the timeframe of this, but, in the worst case, this is a weeks, not a months thing,” US energy secretary Chris Wright said earlier this week. But the longer it goes on, the more likely it is that prices remain higher afterwards.

Here is what will be affected by the ongoing conflict:

Petrol

Iran has cut its oil output drastically, now only producing a quarter of what it was before the first US strikes fell.

“This is roughly 3 per cent of global oil supply lost in a single event. Shockingly, this is worse than the oil supply situation after Russia attacked Ukraine,” noted XTB research director Kathleen Brooks.

Petrol prices in the UK have been rising since the conflict in the Middle East started, up between 4p and 8p to hit their highest in nearly 20 months.

The RAC said diesel prices had risen by nearly 9 per cent since 28 February. Petrol prices were on average 6 per cent more across the same period.

The government has said drivers can compare prices at different petrol stations across the UK through its fuel finder scheme, which has also been welcomed by the AA.

The cost of heating oil has already doubled, which affects customers using home heating oil, as it is not covered by Ofgem’s energy price cap.

Inflation and interest rates

While we don’t know the figures just yet, we do know that if costs of energy, raw materials and labour go up, prices go up in response- this is inflation.

If prices start to surge again, one of the key measures the Bank of England has to control inflation is to raise interest rates.

“Markets are already pricing in the unwelcome return of uncomfortable levels of inflation, with bond yields rising significantly and investors eyeing the UK as particularly sensitive to an energy shock,” Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said.

“Preventing inflation from spiralling once again will be at the forefront of rate setters’ minds when they sit down to rewrite the Bank’s playbook next week.

“The key consideration will be the duration of the conflict, and whether it ends decisively or if attacks on shipping and energy infrastructure continue beyond any declaration of victory by the US president.”

Mortgages

The interest rate going up means you pay more on the amount you’ve borrowed, if you don’t have a fixed deal.

Some lenders have now raised their rates on new fixed-term mortgages. NatWest, TSB, HSBC, Nationwide, Santander, the Co-operative Bank and Skipton Building Society are among those to have done so in the past week or so.

Typically, mortgage deals on the market don’t change in direct line with the Bank of England base rate, they move up and down in anticipation of what might happen in future – with the swap rates, as they are termed.

Up until recently, mortgage prices had been headed downwards, but with this new threat to a possible rise in interest rates, swap rates have edged up.

Stock market and pensions

If inflation and interest rates are potentially heading up, the opposite is currently true for the stock market.

The FTSE 100 fell more than 5 per cent across last week after the chaos in the Middle East began.