Oil Prices Surge as US and Iran Exchange Strikes
Oil prices surged nearly 1% in early trade on Wednesday as concerns over supply disruption intensified after the US and Iran exchanged strikes overnight.
The United States said it had launched a series of airstrikes against targets in Iran, prompting an Iranian response, which marked the most serious escalation of the conflict between the two countries in weeks.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that the US attacks would further restrict traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that carried about one-fifth of the global oil consumed before the conflict.
Brent crude futures rose 87 cents to $95.52 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 80 cents to $91.02, after soaring more than $4 on Tuesday.