Oil prices rose by more than 4 percent in Asian trade on Monday, after new military strikes by the United States and Iran heightened concerns about the security of supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
Brent futures, which is a reference for Europe, rose by $3.10, or 4.08 percent, to $79.11 a barrel.
U.S. light crude oil prices rose by $2.95, or 4.11 percent, to $74.36 a barrel.
The U.S. Central Command reported that yesterday U.S. forces have carried out a new series of strikes on dozens of targets in Iran with high-precision munitions. For its part, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said today that it had attacked American military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain.
US President Donald Trump said yesterday that the Strait of Hormuz is open to commercial shipping. Earlier, Iran announced that it had closed the strait after a vessel took an unauthorized route and was hit.
Before the war began in late February, about 20 percent of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed through the Strait of Hormuz. According to data from the company “Kpler“ (Kpler) only six vessels passed through the Strait yesterday, the lowest number in five weeks.
The new escalation casts doubt on the future of the interim agreement between the United States and Iran, signed last month to restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and end the war after an additional 60 days of negotiations.
Since the agreement was signed, global oil supply has increased by 4.1 million barrels per day in June but remains 9.4 million barrels per day below pre-war levels, the International Energy Agency said in a monthly report published on Friday.
ANZ analysts said hopes for a quick easing of tensions had faded after the weekend's events. According to IG analyst Tony Sycamore, the relatively modest rise in oil prices shows that markets are so far accepting the new strikes as an escalation within the fragile ceasefire, rather than its ultimate failure, Reuters adds.