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31/07/24
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Crude Prices Soar as Middle Eastern Tensions Rise
On Wednesday, crude prices surged as increased tensions in the Middle East lifted the possibility for major disruptions to supplies from the crucial oil-producing region.
Brent oil futures rose 2.9% to $80.33 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude futures jumped 3.3% to $77.18 per barrel, gaining from close to two-month lows.
The leader of Palestinian military group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in a missile attack in Tehran.
The assassination came less than 24 hours after Israel said it had killed the Hezbollah commander it believes was responsible for a deadly strike in the Golan Heights. This may be a major setback for the possibility of a ceasefire in the war.
It may also lead to a resurgence in tensions between Israel and Iran, after several missile attacks between the two earlier in the year.
Traders were attaching a bigger risk premium to crude on worries that a bigger Middle Eastern conflict would disrupt oil supplies from the region.
UN and U.S. attempts to broker a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel have so far not yielded any results.
The Middle Eastern news has overshadowed data on Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute that reported U.S. inventories dropped by close to 4.5M barrels in the week that ended on July 26.
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