Syrian crisis makes oil an investors’ bunker

Oil

Forget bonds, oil is the new haven.

“Our oil team think oil could go as far as $150 if we get the all-out scenario,” UBS global macro strategist Ramin Nakisa told Reuters. “We have gone overweight energy, that is the obvious way to play it.”

Weaponry companies are also benefitting from the debate about an eventual military intervention in Syria: drone and sensor manufacturers such as Raytheon, the Tomahawk maker, for example, have seen their stocks go up.

It is very difficult to predict how things will unfold in such a volatile area. Uncertainty can certainly hit global trade, although experts recall the Syrian scenario won’t be similar to the Gulf war more than 20 years ago: here there is no intention of sending troops and the strike will probably be limited to firing cruise missiles.

Didier Duret, chief investment officer at ABN Amro, has told Reuters that Syria will be a “short-term disturbance” for markets, yet it won’t derail the global economic recovery.

About the Author

Ana Fuentes
Columnist for El País and a contributor to SER (Sociedad Española de Radiodifusión), was the first editor-in-chief of The Corner. Currently based in Madrid, she has been a correspondent in New York, Beijing and Paris for several international media outlets such as Prisa Radio, Radio Netherlands or CNN en español. Ana holds a degree in Journalism from the Complutense University in Madrid and the Sorbonne University in Paris, and a Master's in Journalism from Spanish newspaper El País.

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