Crude oil benchmarks rose about 8% on Tuesday, soaring for a third session as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran widens, disrupting fuel shipments and heightening fears of further Middle East oil and gas supply disruption.
Brent crude futures were up $6.05, or 7.8%, at $83.79 a barrel by 1143 GMT after touching their highest since July 2024 at $85.12.
US West Texas Intermediate crude gained $5.31, or 7.5%, to $76.54 after hitting its highest since June at $77.53.
The US and Israeli air war against Iran has widened since Israel’s first attacks on Saturday, with Israel attacking Lebanon, and Iran responding with strikes against energy infrastructure in Gulf countries and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes.
Tankers and container ships are avoiding the waterway after insurers cancelled coverage for vessels and global oil and gas shipping rates soared. Concerns increased after Iranian media reported on Monday that a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards official said the Strait of Hormuz is closed, warning that Iran will fire on any ship trying to pass.
“While there are concerns about oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a greater risk to the market would be Iran targeting additional energy infrastructure in the region. This could lead to more prolonged outages,” ING analysts said in a note.
United Arab Emirates authorities are dealing with a serious fire at Fujairah port, state media said on Tuesday. Iraq’s Kirkuk crude oil loadings at Turkey’s Ceyhan port stopped on Tuesday, a shipping source told Reuters.
Reuters
