Iran vows ‘eye-for-an-eye’ in escalation of energy attacks

Hello, this is Leonie Kidd writing to you from London. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.

The past 12 hours have been marked by a major escalation in attacks on energy infrastructure in the Middle East. Sharpening rhetoric from Tel Aviv, the White House and Tehran is doing nothing to calm the situation.

Central bankers remain cautious, with the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan holding rates steady, while today’s decisions by the Bank of England and the European Central Bank are expected to be inconsistent, even amid fears of rising inflation.

Strikes on core energy sites on both sides of the Iran war have caused significant market volatility. Israel’s attack on Iran’s South Pars gas field – which US President Donald Trump said it had no prior knowledge of – prompted swift retaliation from Tehran, which launched a missile attack on Qatar’s Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas terminal. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, said the “eye for an eye” approach is now in place, as “a new phase of conflict has begun.”

President Trump has warned that the US will “massively detonate the South Pars gas field” if Iran continues to target Qatar’s energy facilities.

Europe has called for calm, with French President Emmanuel Macron using a post on X.com to call for a “moratorium on strikes targeting civilian infrastructure”, while German Foreign Minister Johann Wadefuhl called the latest move “a crisis of grave order”.

Stocks in Asia followed Wall Street into the red, after the Dow lost 750 points overnight, hitting a new closing low for the year. European stocks are poised to open sharply lower.

Overnight, the Federal Reserve kept rates steady. Policymakers pointed to inflation concerns and uncertain consequences amid the Iran war, prompting hopes of swift cuts.

Meanwhile, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he would serve as head of the central bank if his nominated successor, Kevin Warsh, is not confirmed for a term in May.

The Fed isn’t the only bank taking a “wait-and-see approach.” The Bank of Japan decided to hold rates at 0.75% as expected, citing “upward pressure” from rising fuel prices. Both the Bank of England and the European Central Bank will make policy decisions later today.

– Leonie Kidd

Gold loans are booming in India – and attracting global investors

Indian houses sit on a mountain of gold.

They have more than 34,000 tons of yellow metal, according to a Morgan Stanley As reported in October, Kotak Mahindra Bank valued itself at around $5 trillion.

That vast reserve is now powering one of the fastest-growing credit segments in India. As other forms of consumer credit have slowed, gold loans have been boosted by tighter banking regulations for unsecured loans, a sharp rally in global gold prices, improved access and perhaps rising financial pressure among households.

– Priyanka Salve