Markets live updates: Oil and gold prices jump, while shares slip after Israel strikes Iran

Israel’s air strikes on Iran have had an immediate and dramatic effect on financial markets. Most notably, the global benchmark Brent crude oil futures contract had surged 11.3% to $US75.75 a barrel by 1pm AEST. That’s on top of a rise of about 5% yesterday. Crude oil prices are up about $US10 a barrel over the past two days which, if sustained, will feed through to higher petrol and diesel prices over the next few weeks. Higher energy costs, if sustained over coming months, could see an unwelcome jump in inflation across the globe, much as we saw after Russia’s…