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Oil prices rise after U.S. retaliatory strikes in Middle East

Release time：2024-02-08 13:37viewed：times

From CNBC by Spencer Kimball
Oil prices rose Monday after the U.S. launched retaliatory strikes in Iraq and Syria against Iranian forces and their allies over the weekend, raising the risk that the Middle East is heading toward a broader conflict.

The West Texas Intermediate
contract for March rose 50 cents, or 0.69%, to settle at $72.78 a barrel. The Brent
contract for April gained 66 cents, or 0.85%, to settle at $77.99 a barrel.

The two benchmarks were down about 1% earlier in the session.

“There was never a reason for oil to have traded negative this morning, given the weekend’s ongoing military actions in the Middle East were favorable to oil,” Manish Raj, managing director of Velandera Energy Partners, told CNBC. Velandera’s team was buying the dip in oil in the morning, Raj said.

The U.S. launched retaliatory airstrikes Friday against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and allied militias in Iraq and Syria. The airstrikes, which hit more than 85 targets, came in response to the deaths of three U.S. troops in a drone strike by Iran-allied militants.

The U.S and the U.K. also launched renewed strikes Saturday against Houthi militants in Yemen. The Houthis, who are allied with Iran, have repeatedly targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

“That’s coming dangerously close to firing up the hornets’ nest in Iran — how long can they sit there while their allies get pounded one after another,” Bob Yawger, managing director and energy futures strategist at Mizuho Americas, told CNBC.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the Middle East on Monday to push for an extended humanitarian pause in Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages held by Hamas. Blinken will visit Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank this week.

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Oil prices rise after U.S. retaliatory strikes in Middle East

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