US-Iran Fighting Sparks Oil Price Surge

Oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday as renewed fighting between the US and Iran heightened fears of supply disruptions from the world's key crude-producing region.

The Brent crude futures price increased by $0.56, or 0.6%, to $91.05 a barrel at 0044 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up $0.83, or 1%, to $86.59.

Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM, said that the potential for Iranian retaliation had brought damage to energy infrastructure around the Gulf and added fresh uncertainty for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz back into the equation.

The number of visible commodity vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz dropped to five per day over the weekend, according to shipping data from Kpler.