Oil rises 3% after Iran launches missiles at Israel (Image: REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko)
Oil prices rose around 3% this Tuesday after the Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for the Israeli campaign against Tehran's Hezbollah allies in Lebanon.
Brent crude futures rose $1.86, or 2.6%, to $73.56 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude USA rose $1.66, or 2.4%, to $69.83. Earlier in the session, both benchmark oil contracts rose more than 5%.
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Alarms sounded across Israel and explosions could be heard in Jerusalem and the Jordan River valley after Israelis huddled in bomb shelters.
Clay Seigle, an independent political risk strategist, said in an email that Israel “will not hesitate to expand its military offensive to target Iran directly. And Iran’s oil assets are very likely on the target list.”
An Israeli attack on Iranian oil production or export facilities could cause a material disruption, potentially more than a million barrels per day, Seigle said.
In the Red Sea, meanwhile, another Iranian-backed group, the Houthis in Yemen, claimed responsibility for attacking at least one of two ships damaged in the port of Hodeidah.
The Houthis have launched attacks on international ships near Yemen since last November in solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.