Oil prices jumped more than $4 on Monday, with investors spooked by fresh Israeli strikes on Iran as well as renewed attacks on Lebanon a day earlier.
Brent crude futures rose $4.42 or 4.47% to $97.15 a barrel as of 0609 GMT, while U.S. crude futures were up $4.07 or 4.50% at $94.61 per barrel.
Israel said on Monday it hit a petrochemical plant in Iran’s southwest, along with strikes elsewhere on military targets. That’s despite U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from further attacks.
“In the current market, the physical impact of such a decision would be close to zero,” Rystad Energy’s head of geopolitical analysis, Jorge Leon, said in a note to clients. -Reuters
In the first hit on an energy site inside Iran since the April 8 ceasefire, Israel said it struck targets at the Mahshahr petrochemical complex. A provincial official told Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency parts of the plant were damaged.
