Oil prices jumped at the end of Friday’s trading and are heading towards recording a weekly increase of 10% as investors assess the possibility of the conflict in the Middle East expanding, which could disrupt crude supplies, after US President Joe Biden said that the United States is considering whether to support Israeli strikes on Iranian oil facilities.
Brent crude futures jumped $1.14, or 1.47%, to $78.76 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures jumped $1.28, or 1.74%, to $74.99 a barrel.
Former Director General of Oil and Gas Marketing at the Ministry of Energy and Minerals in the Sultanate of Oman, Ali Al Riyami, said that there is a habit and adaptation in the oil market regarding the geopolitical events that the world has witnessed since the Russian-Ukrainian war.
He added in an interview with “Al Arabiya Business”: “Oil prices may witness increases and supplies may be affected if Israel targets oil facilities in Iran.”
President Joe Biden said Thursday that the United States was consid
ering whether to support Israeli strikes on Iranian oil facilities in response to Tehran’s missile attack on Israel, as the Israeli military continued to pound Beirut in its conflict with the Lebanese group Hezbollah. But Biden later said he would not publicly discuss the discussions when asked if he had urged Israel not to attack Iranian oil facilities.
Biden’s comments helped send oil prices up 5%, as Israel weighs its options for responding after Iran launched its largest-ever attack on Israel on Tuesday.
But OPEC’s spare capacity and the unaffected global crude supply so far from the Middle East unrest have offset supply concerns that drove prices higher earlier this week.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency
