Houston. Oil prices rose on Thursday as investors grew concerned that a widening conflict in the Middle East could disrupt crude flows from the region.
Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 rose $3.72 or 5.03 percent to $77.62 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate CLc1 crude oil futures rose $3.61 or 5.15 percent to $73.71.
Markets fear that Israel will attack Iranian oil infrastructure, which could provoke retaliation from Iran.
This Thursday, when asked if he would support Israel attacking Iran’s oil facilities, US President Joe Biden told reporters that “we are discussing that.” “Nothing is going to happen today,” he added.
The Pentagon said it was in talks with Israeli officials about its possible response to Iran’s missile attack, but declined to offer details.
Iran is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, with production of about 3.2 million barrels per day or 3 percent of global production.
There are concerns that this escalation could lead Iran to block the Strait of Hormuz or attack Saudi infrastructure, as it did in 2019, said Ashley Kelty, an analyst at Panmure Gordon.
The strait is a key logistical chokepoint through which a fifth of daily oil supplies pass.
Ministers from Gulf Arab states and Iran attended a meeting of Asian nations hosted by Qatar to discuss de-escalating hostilities between Israel and Iran, three sources told Reuters this Thursday.
Gulf Arab states sought to reassure Iran about their neutrality in the conflict, amid concerns that further violence could threaten Gulf oil facilities, according to two of the sources.
The Israeli military ordered residents of more than 20 cities in southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes immediately on Thursday, as it continued its cross-border incursion and attacked targets of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in a Beirut suburb.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran would pay for its missile attack on Israel on Tuesday, while Tehran said any retaliation would be met with “vast destruction”, raising fears of a wider war.
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