Oil prices jump over 7% after Trump vows to continue strikes on Iran |
Oil prices climbed nearly 7% on Thursday after US President Donald Trump said he would continue attacks on Iran, stoking fears of prolonged disruptions to oil supply.
Brent crude futures were up $7.65, or 7.6%, to $108.81 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up $7.06, or 7.1%, at $107.18 per barrel.
Both benchmarks were heading for the biggest daily gains, in both absolute and percentage terms, in three weeks, though they remained below highs of over $119 a barrel touched earlier in the conflict.
The gains followed drops of more than $1 in both contracts before Trump’s televised speech to the nation on Wednesday.
“We’re going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks,” Trump said. “We’re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages where they belong.”
While the president stressed several times that the war was close to completion in his speech to the American public, it was unclear how it would end, with The New York Times reporting that multiple US intelligence agencies have assessed in recent days that the Iranian government is not currently willing to engage in substantial negotiations.
He also gave no details on any steps that could lead to a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
One-fifth of global oil normally passes through the strait, and Iran’s........