The Middle East produces about a third of the world's oil
Asian stock markets have fallen, extending a global sell-off sparked by growing fears of a military strike against Syria.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell 1.9%, South Korea's Kospi was down 1.2%, and Australia's ASX 200 lost 1%.
This follows declines in US and European markets on Tuesday.
Speculation of a strike against Syria, also triggered fears over global oil supplies pushing up crude prices to an 18-month high.
Although Syria is not a significant oil producer, there are fears for the stability of the wider Middle East, which produces about a third of the world's oil.
"If Syria becomes drawn out and becomes a long-term issue, it's going to show up in things like gas prices,'' said Chris Costanzo, an investment officer with Tanglewood Wealth Management.
On Tuesday, Germany's Dax and the French Cac 40 indexes ended down about 2.5%. In London, the FTSE 100 index closed down by 0.8%.
In the US, the Dow Jones fell 1.1% to 14,776.13, a two-month low.
Source: BBC News - Business http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23860109#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
_Free_Online.gif)
