ALBAWABA - Following a substantial increase in tensions in the Middle East, the price of crude oil skyrocketed by about 9 percent last week, marking the largest weekly rise since March 2023, according to Euro News.
As markets anticipated a possible Israeli assault on Iran, West Texas Intermediate witnessed a spike of 9.09%, and U.S. crude oil saw an increase of nearly 3% on Monday. The price of Brent oil, on the other hand, increased by 8.43%, making it the biggest substantial weekly advance since January 2023, CNBC reports.
Last Tuesday, Axios reported that Israeli officials threatened to strike Iran's oil production establishments and other strategic locations in reaction to Iran's ballistic missile attack, which came in retaliation for the Israeli attack in Beirut that killed Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian General Abbas Nilforoushan.
Netanyahu declares "War of Resurrection," reveals when Israel's war on seven fronts will endIsrael confirmed its intention to reply "when the time is right" on Saturday, despite US President Joe Biden telling reporters that Israeli leaders had not yet chosen how to approach the situation.
Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told CNN that “this type of situation would have sent prices well above $100,” adding that just two years prior, oil prices shot up to $130 a barrel following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in March 2022.
According to a number of specialists, US output and spare capacity from OPEC+ might balance out any short-term supply disruptions. However, continuous disturbances in the oil markets might result from a wider regional war in the Middle East, Euro News reports.
