Oil Prices Spike as Middle East Tensions Escalate

Oil prices jumped over 2% on Monday as concerns about global energy supplies intensified following new attacks on Saudi Arabian infrastructure and ships in the Middle East.

The Brent futures price rose $2.72, or 2.6%, to $107.33 per barrel at 11:39 a.m. EDT (1539 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude increased by $2.51, or 2.5%, to $102.56.

The strikes on Saudi Arabia's east-west pipeline and ships in the Middle East have raised worries about energy supplies, with commodity vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz falling to a single digit per day at the weekend.

Arab states in the Gulf called off a meeting with Iran planned for Monday, while Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis launched a new attack on Saudi Arabia after fighting that has extended the Middle East war to another theater and further jeopardized global oil supplies.