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Oil prices soar more than 10% after Saudi plant attacks
HONG KONG, Sept 16, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Oil prices surged more than 10
percent Monday after attacks on two Saudi Arabian plants that slashed output
in the world’s top producer by half, with Donald Trump blaming Iran and
raising the possibility of a military strike on the country.
West Texas Intermediate jumped 10.68 percent to $60.71 and Brent climbed
11.77 percent to $67.31 in early Asia trading following the blasts at
facilities run by state-owned giant Aramco.
The attack by Tehran-backed Huthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen, where a
Saudi-led coalition is bogged down in a five-year war, effectively shut down
six percent of the global oil supply.
Brent soared almost 20 percent at one point on Monday, while WTI surged
around 15 percent before paring the gains.
Trump said Sunday the US was “locked and loaded” to respond to the attack,
while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: “The United States will work with
our partners and allies to ensure that energy markets remain well supplied
and Iran is held accountable for its aggression.”
Tehran denies the accusations but the news has revived fears of a conflict
in the tinderbox Middle East after a series of attacks on oil tankers earlier
this year that were also blamed on Iran.
“Tensions in the Middle East are rising quickly, meaning this story will
continue to reverberate this week even after the knee-jerk panic in oil
markets this morning,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0927 hrs