Global oil prices have had their largest single-day percentage increases in years, reflecting fears that a wider conflict in the Middle East could lead to serious energy supply disruptions.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last up 4.3% at $72.4 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, jumped 5% to $71.4 a barrel.
According to Reuters, they are the biggest intraday gains for each benchmark since March 2022, a month after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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The surge in the Brent price illustrates “both immediate supply concerns and a growing sense that negative headlines could extend the timeline for escalation unlike prior Israel-Iran episode,” Ahmad Assiri, research strategist at Pepperstone, a financial services firm, wrote in a research note.
In the equities market, US stock futures fell, sending investors retreating to traditional safe haven investments like gold. Dow futures dropped 1.3%, or over 540 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq Composite futures were down even more, by 1.4% and 1.6%, respectively. Meanwhile, gold rose about 1% to $3,413.6 per troy ounce.
