Oil soars more than 9% after Israel strikes Iran, rattling investors
prices surged more than 9% on Friday, hitting their highest in almost five months after Israel struck Iran, dramatically escalating tensions in the Middle East and raising worries about disrupted oil supplies.
Brent crude futures jumped $6.29, or 9.07%, to $75.65 a barrel by 0315 GMT after hitting an intraday high of $78.50, the highest since January 27.
US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $6.43, or 9.45%, at $74.47 a barrel after hitting a high of $77.62, the loftiest since January 21.
Friday's gains were the largest intraday moves for both contracts since 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine, causing energy prices to spike.
Israel said it targeted Iran's nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders on Friday at the start of what it warned would be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon.
'This has elevated geopolitical uncertainty significantly and requires the oil market to price in a larger risk premium for any potential supply disruptions,' ING analysts led by Warren Patterson said in a note. Several oil traders in Singapore said it was still too early to say if the strike will affect Middle East oil shipments as it will depend on how Iran retaliates and if the US will intervene.
'It's too early to tell but I think the market is worried about shutting off of the Strait of Hormuz,' one of the traders said.
MST Marquee senior energy analyst Saul Kavonic said the conflict would need to escalate to the point of Iranian retaliation on oil infrastructure in the region before oil supply is materially impacted.
He added that Iran could hinder up to 20 million barrels per day of oil supply via attacks on infrastructure or limiting passage through the Strait of Hormuz, in an extreme scenario.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel will receive 'harsh punishment' following Friday's attack that he said killed several military commanders.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday called Israel's strikes against Iran a 'unilateral action' and said Washington was not involved while also urging Tehran not to target US interests or personnel in the region.
Oil prices drop as traders gauge ME tensions
'Iran has announced an emergency and is preparing to retaliate, which raises the risk of not just disruptions but of contagion in other neighbouring oil producing nations too,' said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.
'Although Trump has shown reluctance to participate, US involvement could further raise concerns.'
In other markets, stocks dived in early Asian trade, led by a selloff in US futures, while investors scurried to safe havens such as gold and the Swiss franc.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
Oil up 6% as Israel strikes avoid oil sites
Listen to article Oil prices fell off multi-month highs hit earlier on Friday as Israeli air strikes avoided Iranian oil sites, but prices still up about 6% as investors worried that the tensions could disrupt Middle East oil supplies. Brent crude futures were up $4.11, or 5.9%, to $73.47 a barrel by 1712 GMT, after earlier soaring over 13% to an intraday high of $78.50, the strongest level since January 27. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $4.38, or 6.4%, at $72.42, after earlier jumping over 14% to its highest since January 21 at $77.62. Friday's gains were the largest intraday moves for both contracts since 2022. The National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company said oil refining and storage facilities had not been damaged and continued to operate. One primary concern, according to analysts, was whether the latest developments would affect the Strait of Hormuz, said Nikos Tzabouras, senior market analyst at In other markets, stocks dived and there was a rush to safe havens such as gold and the US dollar and Swiss franc. REUTERS
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Israel fire service says responding to ‘major' incidents from Iran missile attack
JERUSALEM: Israel's firefighting service said its teams were responding to several 'major' incidents resulting from an Iranian missile attack, including efforts to rescue people trapped in a high-rise building. 'Firefighting crews are handling several major incidents, mainly in the Dan region' around Tel Aviv, a statement said, adding that 'firefighters are working in a high-rise building to rescue trapped individuals and extinguish a fire, as well as responding to two additional destruction sites.' AFP footage from central Tel Aviv showed fire and smoke rising from a condo tower, a large hole ripped open by an explosion at its base. After Israel targeted military and nuclear sites across Iran, the Islamic Republic sent a fleet of drones, followed by two salvoes of missiles. 'In both series, less than 100 missiles were fired, most of which were intercepted by air defense systems', Israel's military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in a statement. Iran strikes back at Israel with missiles over Jerusalem, Tel Aviv 'There are a limited number of hits on buildings, some from shrapnel from the interception', he added. Immediately after the first salvo, a thick plume of smoke billowed over the coastal Israeli city of Tel Aviv, an AFP journalist reported. A residential building next to the defence ministry in Tel Aviv was also struck. Resident Chen Gabizon, 30, told AFP he ran to the building's underground shelter after receiving an alert notification. 'After a few minutes, we just heard a very big explosion, everything was shaking, smoke, dust, everything was all over the place', he said, adding he would stay with family or at a hotel for a while. AFPTV images of the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan showed a street littered with debris of damaged nearby buildings whose facades were torn by a missile's blast. First responders worked to remove a dozen vehicles destroyed by bits of fallen concrete, metal bars and wooden planks from a destroyed residential building. A spokesman for Israel's first responders agency, the Magen David Adom, said on private Israeli television channel 12 that 21 people were injured by the missiles, including two in serious condition.
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Iran strikes back at Israel with missiles over Jerusalem, Tel Aviv
TEL AVIV: Iran launched retaliatory airstrikes at Israel on Friday night, with explosions heard in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the country's two largest cities, following Israel's biggest-ever military strike against its longstanding enemy. Air raid sirens sounded across Israel as authorities urged the public to take shelter. Missiles were seen over Tel Aviv's skyline, with the military saying Iran had fired two salvos. Israel's military said Iran fired fewer than 100 missiles and most were intercepted or fell short. The U.S. military helped shoot down Iranian missiles headed for Israel, two U.S. officials said. Israel's Channel 12 said two people were critically injured, eight moderately and 34 slightly from shrapnel. Several buildings were struck in the attack including an apartment block in a residential neighbourhood in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv. Another building in central Tel Aviv was also struck, causing significant damage to multiple floors. The Israeli strikes on Iran throughout the day and the Iranian retaliation raised fears of a broader regional conflagration, although Iran's allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have been decimated by Israel. Iran's state news agency IRNA said Tehran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel after Israel blasted Iran's huge Natanz underground nuclear site and killed its top military commanders. Iran says its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes. Israeli officials said it may be some time before the extent of damage at Natanz was clear. Western countries have long accused Iran of refining uranium there to levels suitable for a bomb rather than civilian use. Israel hits Iran nuclear and missile facilities, appears to block retaliation The above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Natanz has been destroyed, U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council on Friday. He said the U.N. was still gathering information about Israeli attacks on two other facilities, the Fordow fuel enrichment plant and at Isfahan. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Israel of starting a war. A senior Iranian official said nowhere in Israel would be safe and revenge would be painful. Iran's U.N. envoy Amir Saeid Iravani said 78 people, including senior military officials, were killed in Israel's strikes on Iran and more than 320 people were wounded, most of them civilians. He accused the U.S. of being complicit in the attacks and said it shared full responsibility for the consequences. 'As many days as it takes' Israel's operation 'will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a TV address. 'Generations from now, history will record our generation stood its ground, acted in time and secured our common future.' Netanyahu, who for decades has raised the alarm about Iran's nuclear programme, said he authorised the assault to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons. Israel and its Western allies have said this is Tehran's objective but Iran denies it. Israel's U.N. envoy Danny Danon said intelligence had confirmed that within days Iran would have produced enough fissile material for multiple bombs. Iran has long insisted its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only. The U.N. nuclear watchdog concluded this week that it was in violation of its obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty. Israel says it strikes Iran amid nuclear tensions U.S. President Donald Trump said it was not too late for Tehran to halt the Israeli bombing campaign by reaching a deal on its nuclear programme. Tehran had been engaged in talks with the Trump administration on a deal to curb its nuclear programme to replace one that Trump abandoned in 2018. Tehran rejected the last U.S. offer. The price of crude leaped on fears of wider retaliatory attacks across the oil-producing region, although there were no reports that oil production or storage was damaged. OPEC said the escalation did not justify any immediate changes to oil supply. 'We knew everything,' Trump tells Reuters In a phone interview with Reuters, Trump said nuclear talks between Tehran and the United States, scheduled for Sunday, were still on the agenda though he was not sure if they would take place. 'We knew everything,' Trump said of the Israeli attack plans. 'I tried to save Iran humiliation and death. I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out,' Trump said. 'They can still work out a deal, however, it's not too late.' Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said military action by itself would not destroy Iran's nuclear programme, but could 'create the conditions for a long-term deal, led by the United States' to get rid of it. Two regional sources said at least 20 Iranian military commanders were killed, a stunning decapitation reminiscent of Israeli attacks that swiftly wiped out the leadership of Lebanon's once-feared Hezbollah militia last year. Iran also said six of its top nuclear scientists had been killed. Among the generals killed on Friday were the armed forces chief of staff, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, and the Revolutionary Guards chief, Hossein Salami. Major General Mohammad Pakpour, promoted to replace Salami as Guards commander, vowed retaliation in a letter to the Supreme Leader read on state television: 'The gates of hell will open to the child-killing regime.' Mossad operated deep in Iran An Israeli security source said Mossad commandos had been operating deep inside the Islamic Republic before the attack, and the Israeli spy agency and military had mounted a series of covert operations against Iran's strategic missile array. Israel also established an attack-drone base near Tehran, the source added. The military said it had bombarded Iran's air defences, destroying 'dozens of radars and surface-to-air missile launchers'. Iranians described an atmosphere of fear and anger, with some people hurrying to change money and others seeking a way out of the country to safety. 'People on my street rushed out of their homes in panic. We were all terrified,' said Marziyeh, 39, who was awakened by a blast in Natanz. While some Iranians quietly hoped the attack would lead to changes in Iran's hardline clerical leadership, others vowed to rally behind the authorities. 'I will fight and die for our right to a nuclear programme. Israel and its ally America cannot take it away from us with these attacks,' said Ali, a member of the pro-government Basij militia in Qom. Iran's ability to retaliate with weapons fired by its regional proxies has been sharply degraded over the past year, with the downfall of its ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria and the decimation of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. Israel said a missile fired from Yemen - whose Houthi militia are Iran-aligned - had landed in Hebron in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Red Crescent said three Palestinian children were wounded by shrapnel there.
