Key insights
- Oil prices surged nearly 5% due to Israeli strikes on an Iranian petrochemical plant, escalating regional tensions. This raises concerns about potential disruptions to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route. Despite OPEC+'s planned output increase, the geopolitical risk premium is driving prices higher, potentially contributing to inflationary pressures and impacting global economic growth, which could negatively affect US equity markets.
Investing.com-- Oil prices jumped nearly 5% on Monday after Israel struck a petrochemical plant in southwestern Iran and other military targets in retaliation for Iran’s missile barrages toward Israel, threatening a fragile ceasefire and dimming hopes for a negotiated end to the conflict.
As of 02:16 ET (06:16 GMT), Brent Oil Futures expiring in August advanced 4.7% to $97.44 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 4.5% to $94.62 per barrel.
Both contracts ended last week with modest gains, with fresh hostilities across the Middle East dampening truce hopes.
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The gains extended after Israel said it had targeted military sites in western and central Iran, as well as a petrochemical facility near Mahshahr, marking one of the most significant attacks on Iranian energy-linked infrastructure since a ceasefire was reached in April.
The latest strikes came after Iran launched several rounds of missiles at Israeli targets in retaliation for Israeli attacks on the outskirts of Beirut.
U.S. President Donald Trump had urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to retaliate against Iran’s missile attack, according to reports.
The escalation has cast fresh doubt on a fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire extension between Israel and Lebanon that took effect last week.
The developments renewed concerns about disruptions to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route that handles roughly a fifth of global oil consumption.
Oil had fallen sharply late last week on hopes of de-escalation, with Brent settling near $93 and WTI around $90 on Friday, but those expectations were quickly reversed by the latest military exchanges.
On the supply side, OPEC+ agreed to another increase in oil output quotas for July of 188,000 barrels per day, continuing its gradual rollback of voluntary production cuts. However, a blockage of exports from the Persian Gulf has prevented most producers from implementing the additional output.
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