Oil prices soared more than 9% during Friday's Asian trade, briefly touching their highest levels in five months, after Israel launched military strikes on Iran.
By 2:55 pm AEST (4:55 am GMT) Brent crude futures surged by $6.22 or 9% to US$75.58 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed $6.38 or 9.4% to $74.42.
These marked the largest intraday moves for both contracts since 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused energy markets to spike.
Israel said it had struck multiple targets inside Iran, including nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories, and high-ranking military officials.
In response, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed retaliation, declaring that Israel would face a harsh punishment for an attack he said resulted in the deaths of several Iranian military commanders.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the United States had no involvement in the Israeli strikes, describing them as a "unilateral action." He also urged Iran not to retaliate against U.S. personnel or interests in the region.
Analysts at ANZ warned that supply risks are intensifying at a time when OPEC is ramping up production. “The risk of supply disruptions comes just as OPEC ramps up its production hikes. Crude tanker loadings from OPEC nations rose 24% week-on-week last week to 2.28 million barrels per day, the highest weekly loadings since April 2023,” the bank noted, citing data from maritime trade association Bimco.
