GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares Skid, Oil Surges Again as Iran Attacks Gulf Shipping

GLOBAL MARKET - SYDNEY. Shares fell in Asia on Thursday as oil prices jumped on reports that more ships had been struck in the Strait of Hormuz and in Iraqi waters, fuelling inflation and pushing borrowing costs higher worldwide.

U.S. crude rose 7.5% to $93.80 a barrel, reversing a fall of 11% overnight. Brent crude futures jumped 7.7% to $99.03 a barrel. That was despite plans from the International Energy Agency to release 400 million barrels of oil from its reserves, the largest such move in its history. The U.S. said it would release 172 million barrels of oil from next week, as part of the IEA plan.