Oil Prices Soar Amid Escalating Mideast Tensions
Oil prices surged more than 4% on Wednesday as tensions in the Middle East escalated following US and Saudi strikes in Iraq and an intercepted Iranian missile attack on US forces. Brent futures rose $3.72, or 4.4%, to $87.81 a barrel by 6:25 a.m. ET.
UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo attributed the price increase to 'renewed military strikes in the Middle East and Iranian officials reiterating that they want to control shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz amid depressed oil flows through the Strait.'
The US and Saudi Arabia launched strikes on Iran-backed groups in Iraq, blaming them for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities. Meanwhile, Iran said it had fired on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and at US bases in Jordan.
Suvro Sarkar, head of energy research at DBS Bank, predicted that Brent oil prices will continue to whipsaw in the $80-$100 per barrel range in the near term as the conflict ebbs and flows in the Middle East.