* Oil prices volatile amid US-Israel war on Iran

* ECB's Lagarde says to avoid 2022 energy shock

* US dollar remains top safe-haven asset

(Updates throughout)

By Amanda Cooper

LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Global shares edged lower

on Wednesday as oil prices fluctuated and mixed signals about

the U.S.-Israeli stance on Iran heightened investor anxiety over

inflationary pressures and risks to economic growth.

Beyond the Middle East, investors were reminded of the

vulnerabilities within private credit after the Financial Times,

citing people familiar with the matter, reported JPMorgan Chase

JPM.N had marked down the value of some loans held by

private-credit groups and was tightening its lending to the

sector.

Oil had another volatile day, although price movement was

relatively muted compared to the record price swings of Monday's

session.

The Wall Street Journal reported the International Energy

Agency has proposed the largest release of reserves in its

history to bring down crude prices, while energy ministers from

the G7 nations said they supported the principle of using

stockpiles to deal with the situation.

Brent crude futures were last up around 2% at $89.47

a barrel, having traded as low as $86.24 overnight.

The MSCI All-World index eased a touch on

the day as losses in European shares mounted, leaving the STOXX

600 down 0.7%, shrugging off gains in Asia, where the

Nikkei rose 1.7% and South Korea's Kospi gained

1.75%.

U.S. stock futures were virtually flat on the day

.

"Until we move onto the next big event, markets continue to

be driven by volatile news flow around Iran and the outlook for

oil flows. Overall, the narrative has shifted towards a

cautiously more optimistic tone, even as there's little sign of

an imminent end to the conflict," Deutsche Bank strategist Jim

Reid said.

Investors remain on edge as the Middle East conflict

threatens to freeze global energy trade and ignite a price shock

- a risk that world leaders are scrambling to address.

The immediate concern is when the Strait of Hormuz, a

critical choke point for global oil supply effectively

controlled by Iran, will again be safe for traffic.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on

Tuesday the central bank would do everything to keep inflation

under control to avoid a repeat of the 2022 energy price shock.

Several ECB officials have signalled they favour a wait-and-see

approach before taking action.

SAFE-HAVEN DOLLAR

The dollar is still the safe haven of choice for investors

as the war approaches its second week. The U.S. currency has

gained well over 1% against a basket of other major currencies

since the start of the conflict, compared with a 1% drop in the

Swiss franc and a 1.5% loss in gold, two

classic safe-haven assets.

"You have only one safe asset, which has been the U.S.

dollar," said Frank Benzimra, head of Asia equity strategy and

multi-asset strategist at Societe Generale.

"Even gold or Treasuries did not play this huge safe-haven

role. In the case of Treasuries, because of the inflation

concerns, and in the case of gold, because we could see some

investors selling their gains in gold to offset some losses in

the equity market."

The euro and the pound struggled to make

headway, trading almost unchanged at $1.1615 and $1.3432,

respectively. The yen weakened, leaving the dollar up

0.15% at 158.3.

The surge in bond yields at the start of the week over the

threat of a prolonged rise in energy prices has added to

existing concerns about other parts of the market that many see

as being at risk of overheating, such as private credit and, in

particular, the vast sums involved in the rollout of artificial

intelligence.

Growing concerns about deteriorating credit quality,

specifically regarding AI-led disruption in the software sector,

have triggered a wave of investor withdrawals from private

credit vehicles, including BlackRock's $26 billion HPS Corporate

Lending Fund.

PMorgan is focusing on loans to software companies it

considers most susceptible to disruption, the FT reported on

Wednesday.

U.S. Treasuries fell again on Wednesday, pushing the yield

on the benchmark 10-year note up 3 basis points to

4.165%, ahead of the monthly inflation report for February later

on Wednesday.

(Additional reporting by Rae Wee in Singapore; Editing by Shri

Navaratnam and Pooja Desai)