Oil Soars on Biden Remarks About Possible Israeli Retaliation [View all]

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Source: Bloomberg, via Yahoo! Finance

Bloomberg
Oil Soars on Biden Remarks About Possible Israeli Retaliation

Antonia Mufarech and Devika Krishna Kumar
Thu, October 3, 2024 at 1:49 PM EDT 3 min read

(Bloomberg) -- Oil surged as the market braced for the possibility that Israel’s retaliation against Iran for its recent missile barrage will include strikes on the country’s oil industry.

West Texas Intermediate soared about 4% to around $73 a barrel after President Joe Biden was asked if he would support Israel striking Iran’s oil facilities. “We’re discussing that,” Biden responded. “I think that would be a little — anyways.” The White House didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment on Biden’s statement. Biden also said he wasn’t expecting Israel’s retaliation to come Thursday. ... Both WTI and global benchmark Brent crude spiked to the highest intraday prices in about a month after the exchange.

The oil market has been transfixed by the latest crisis in the Middle East, which comes after a year of turmoil in which Israel has faced off against Iran and its proxies in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and elsewhere. The region accounts for about a third of global supply, and traders are concerned that the latest escalation could hit flows if energy facilities are attacked or supply routes are blocked.

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A major strike by Israel on Iran’s export capacity could take 1.5 million barrels of daily supply off the market, Citigroup Inc. analysts including Francesco Martoccia said in a note on Wednesday. If Israel struck minor infrastructure, such as downstream assets, 300,000 to 450,000 barrels of output could be lost, the analysts said.

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Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/oil-climbs-third-day-middle-223658175.html