Oil prices surge as Israel strikes Iran amid rising middle east tensions
Oil prices soared on Friday as tensions in the Middle East escalated after Israel launched airstrikes targeting several sites in Iran — a move that could threaten crude supply disruptions.
Brent crude futures for August delivery jumped 8%, or $5.52, to $74.88 a barrel as of 7:56 am KSA time, trimming earlier gains after briefly reaching $78.50.
Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for July delivery rose by 8.42%, or $5.73, to $73.73 a barrel, off earlier highs of $77.62.
Israel said it had launched pre-emptive, precise strikes targeting Iran's nuclear program, citing increasing intelligence evidence that Tehran is nearing the capability to produce a nuclear weapon.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesperson Effie Defrin said the attacks aim to thwart Iran's progress on this front.
Ed Hirs, energy fellow at the University of Houston, told Yahoo Finance that the crisis could lead to a temporary slowdown in oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — one of the world's most critical oil transit chokepoints, with up to 20 million barrels of oil passing through daily.
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