Oil near one-month high after US missile strikes

Oil traded near a one-month high yesterday after the US fired missiles at a Syrian government airbase, sending shockwaves through global markets and raising concerns that the conflict could spread in the oil-rich region.

The toughest US action yet in Syria’s six-year-old civil war has ramped up geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East.

Oil, gold, foreign exchange and bonds initially reacted strongly to the attack but reversed some of the sharp moves later in the session after the release of weaker-than-expected monthly US employment figures.