Israel-Hamas War Will Impact Oil Prices, Economy: Industry Body Official To NDTV

New Delhi:

The Israel-Hamas war is a reason for concern and will impact oil prices if the Middle East and Iran get involved, said PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s (PHDCCI) Executive Director Ranjeet Mehta.

Brent prices have gone up, Mr Mehta said, adding, “The war will impact oil prices, and supply chains, especially if Iran, a major oil producer, gets involved. It will impact over global economy and India.”

“The war is definitely a reason for concern. Israel is one of our very good trading partners. If Iran and the Middle East get involved in the war, it will affect our oil supply chains. It will also impact the import of diamonds and other items from Israel. We also saw its impact on the stock markets today,” he added, flagging an imminent “atmosphere of uncertainty”.

“The atmosphere of uncertainty will prevail for a few days and we will get more clarity as days go by. Wars are unpredictable. With Israel declaring a state of war, the uncertainty will be there for a while now.”

Israel woke up to a dawn attack on Saturday, a day of Sabbath and a Jewish holiday, with over 5,000 rockets raining down as the Hamas group launched a land-air-water strike from the Gaza Strip.

Israel, caught off-guard, retaliated, promptly declaring a state of war and pounding Gaza with air strikes. Over 1,100 have died on both sides since Saturday and several thousand more have been injured.