JEDDAH: Oil prices surged by as much as 13 percent on March 2 after retaliatory Iranian attacks disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, following Israeli and US strikes on Iranian military sites.
Brent crude futures rose to as much as $82.37 a barrel, the highest since January 2025, before easing to trade up $5.73, or 7.86 percent, at $78.60 by 9:42 a.m. GMT.
US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed to an intraday high of $75.33, up over 12 percent and the highest since June, though it later pared gains and was up $4.82, or 7.19 percent, at $71.84.
Both benchmarks jumped as a sustained exchange of counterattacks damaged tankers and sharply disrupted shipments in the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway between Iran and Oman that connects the Gulf to the Arabian Sea.
On a typical day, tankers carrying oil equal to about one-fifth of global demand pass through the Strait from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Iraq, as well as Iran and Kuwait. The waterway also handles diesel, jet fuel and gasoline shipments bound for major Asian markets such as China and India, Reuters reported.
