LIVE: Pentagon Chief Says US Intensifying Strikes on Iran

New York, Mar 9 (AP) The Group of Seven major industrialized powers have decided against using strategic reserves for now to counter the impact on oil prices from the Iran war.

"We're not there yet," French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said after chairing a meeting of his G7 counterparts.

"We are ready to take necessary and coordinated steps in order to stabilise markets, such as strategic stockpiling," Lescure told reporters in Brussels. (AP)

NEW YORK, March 9, 2026 (AFP) - Wall Street stocks fell early Monday as a surge in oil prices due to the Middle East war dampened the global economic outlook.

All three major US indices dropped more than one percent, joining a global equity market rout, as oil prices rose in response to output cuts by leading Middle Eastern exporters due to lack of storage space following the effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz.

"We're being dragged around by events in the Middle East and the price of oil," said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers. "The longer this goes, the bigger the economic impact and the harder it is to recover from."

About 25 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.6 percent at 46,729.34.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 1.5 percent to 6,640.99, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 1.3 percent to 22,092.08.

President Emmanuel Macron said Monday the G7 will discuss a possible release of strategic oil reserves, as finance ministers of the world's leading industrialized nations prepared to meet for crisis talks on the Middle East war.

This week's economic calendar includes key US inflation readings for January and February, a period before the significant jump in oil prices due to the Iran war.

WASHINGTON, United States, March 9, 2026 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Iran of taking the world "hostage" through its retaliatory strikes and insisted that the United States was on track with its war objectives.

"I think we are all seeing right now the threat this clerical regime poses to the region and to the world. They are trying to hold the world hostage," Rubio said at an event at the State Department.

LONDON, March 9, 2026 (AFP) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday the government was monitoring the economic fallout of the US and Israel's war in Iran, as energy prices soared due to supply disruptions.

"The longer this goes on, the more likely the potential for an impact on our economy, impact into the lives and households of everybody and every business," Starmer said, speaking at a community centre in London.

"Our job is to get ahead of that, to look around the corner, assess the risk, monitor the risks, and work with others in relation to that."

The prime minister tried to reassure the public amid deep concerns over prolonged cost-of-living pressures and high energy bills since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Starmer insisted the government was prepared to handle the economic fallout, with most households protected until summer by a price cap on gas and electricity.

His finance minister Rachel Reeves will join G7 counterparts on Monday for talks between the world's leading industrialised nations as the war in the Middle East entered its 10th day.

They are scheduled to discuss a joint release of strategic oil reserves coordinated by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Financial Times reported.

Starmer also defended ties between Washington and London, which looked increasingly frayed in the last week with US President Donald Trump criticising the British leader for initially refusing to have any role in the war.

"The discussion with our US counterparts, is happening at all levels, all of the time, every single day. That's the nature of the relationship," said Starmer, who on Sunday held his first phone call with Trump since the war broke out on February 28.

But he insisted that "decisions about what's in Britain's best interests are decisions for the prime minister of Britain."