In the light of Iran’s attack on Israel earlier on Sunday, President of Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EBEP) Vassilis Korkidis warned that the week ahead will find the global economic community in a similar “state of war,” as the incident will set off chain reactions in foreign stock exchanges and markets, as well as increase and natural gas prices.
“At this stage,” he explains, “we clearly cannot estimate the extent of the economic impact, as we do not know how events will unfold. However, what we do know from the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and the Red Sea, is that every act of war causes economic disruptions.”
Korkidis emphasized that the conflict between a major oil-producing country like Iran and a significant energy hub like Israel, combined with the closing off of the Suez Canal, will pose a serious risk of fuel prices skyrocketing.
He argued that the whole situation may cause investors to move to “safe havens,” as markets will be monitoring events to assess geopolitical risk. As is usually the case, increasing geopolitical risk will drive markets towards asset classes like gold, which act as a hedge against international turmoil, and the dollar, which will benefit from the ongoing situation.
As for Greece, he concludes, which operates in trade, industry, and shipping in the Eastern Mediterranean and, by extension, the Middle East, it can only wait and hope that further unpleasant developments are avoided.
“One thing is certain,” he noted, “we are facing yet another serious geopolitical risk, which threatens to seriously affect our country’s tourism sector and exports. As for the European economy, everything that is happening will affect inflation and energy costs.”
