Asian shares were cautious on Friday as the escalating conflict in the Red Sea region sent oil prices surging, while slightly higher-than-expected US inflation data did not dent investors' views on early and aggressive rate cuts in the US and Europe. The rally in rates may have been helped by dovish comments from European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde who said rate cuts would occur if the central bank has certainty that inflation had fallen to the 2.0 per cent level. In breaking news, the United States and Britain have started carrying out strikes against targets linked to Houthis in Yemen, after the Iran-backed…
