By Giulia Petroni
Oil prices surged after Israel and Iran exchanged fire, threatening an already fragile ceasefire in the Middle East and dimming hopes for an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
In early European trade on Monday, Brent crude climbed 4.9% to $97.64 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate rose 4.5% to $94.59 a barrel. Both benchmarks have gained more than 60% this year but remain well below March levels, when Brent was around $120 a barrel.
In several waves of attacks, the two sides struck each other for the first time since a ceasefire took effect in April, despite President Trump telling Fox News and Axios that he was urging both Iran and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from further escalation.
"A lasting peace agreement appears increasingly elusive," analysts at Saxo Bank say. "The near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to tighten global energy markets, with several oil majors warning that the window before physical shortages begin to emerge may be measured in weeks rather than months."
Write to Giulia Petroni at giulia.petroni@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-08-26 0356ET
