Today’s (4/19) strikes by Israel on Iran, which sparked fresh fears of an extension of the war in the Middle East, sent oil prices jumping more than 3%.
Brent traded 3.63% higher at $90.27 a barrel, while US crude rose 3.66% to $85.76 a barrel.
Prices for “safe havens” have also increased. Spot gold prices soared to a new all-time high of $2,431 an ounce, while the yen gained 0.45% to 153.93 against the US dollar.
Iran’s Fars news agency reported that explosions were heard near the airport of the Iranian city of Isfahan. Flight tracking website Flight Radar 24 showed that several flights were diverted into Iranian airspace early Friday.
The “shadow war” is over
Israel vowed on Sunday that Iran would pay for the weekend’s large-scale airstrike in the Jewish state. A day earlier, Iran struck military targets inside Israel, launching more than 300 missiles and drones in an unprecedented attack on Israeli soil.
“With Israel’s apparent strikes on Iran today in retaliation for Iran’s attack on Israel last Sunday, we now have an immediate hot war between countries,” said Rapidan Energy Global Oil Service Director Clay Seigle. “The ‘shadow war’ chapter has come to an end,” he added. He argued that it is still too early to predict how things will develop.
However, he pointed out that ‘big risk’ to oil markets in escalating Middle East war is disruption of Gulf oil exports. The region is responsible for placing on the global market more than 20 million barrels of oil per day.
A disruption or closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key choke point between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the world’s oil production flows each day, would also cause oil prices to rise.
“A Hormuz disruption would be very serious for the global economy, possibly driving oil prices into triple digits to demand-destroying levels,” he added.
Source: ot.gr
#Oil #caught #fire #Israels #attack #Iran
