Commodities
Oil Prices Soar Amid Escalating Conflict in the Middle East
Oil prices surged on Monday after the US attacked an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz, drawing retaliation from Tehran. Brent crude futures jumped $2.51 to 2.85% to $90.61 a barrel as of 0241 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.13 or 2.55% to $85.53.
According to technical charts, if the conflict escalates and pushes WTI above resistance at $85.80 to $85.90 a barrel, it could open the way for further gains, initially to last week's $87.69 high followed by July's $93.50 high.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters that the US is likely to issue new secondary sanctions weekly on Iran, aiming to cut the Islamic republic off entirely from the dollar-based financial system.