Oil Climbs More Than $1 per Barrel on Reports Iran Preparing to Strike at Israel
Oil prices extended gains on Friday, climbing more than $1 a barrel to pare weekly losses, as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East rose following reports that Iran was preparing a retaliatory strike on Israel from Iraq in the coming days.
Brent crude futures, which have rolled to the January contract, climbed $1.31, or 1.80%, to $74.12 a barrel by 0128 GMT.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $1.35, or 1.95%, to $70.61 a barrel after settling up 0.95% in the previous session.
Israeli intelligence suggests Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days, possibly before the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5, Axios reported on Thursday, citing two unidentified Israeli sources.
The attack is expected to be carried out from Iraq using a large number of drones and ballistic missiles, the Axios report added.
Oil prices were also supported by expectations that OPEC+ could delay December’s planned increase to oil production by a month or more, four sources close to the matter told Reuters on Wednesday, citing concern about soft oil demand and rising supply. A decision to delay the increase could come as early as next week, two of the sources said.
Source : Reuters
