Oil prices have spiked sharply as attacks tied to the widening conflict in and around the Middle East rattled key energy infrastructure and raised fresh fears of supply disruption.
Global benchmarks jumped over 10% in early trade, pushing Brent crude toward around $80 a barrel — its highest levels in months — after a series of retaliatory strikes, including an Iranian drone attack near Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura refinery.
The facility, one of the kingdom’s largest with a capacity of about 550,000 barrels per day, was shut down as a precaution following the incident, compounding market anxiety about oil flows from the Gulf.
The violence, which has seen military action by the United States and Israel on Iranian targets followed by Tehran’s own reprisals, has also hit shipping in one of the world’s most crucial energy corridors.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies transit, has collapsed as insurers pull back and shipping firms divert tankers to avoid potential attacks.
That combination of refinery outages and tanker disruption has traders pricing in a prolonged squeeze on supply.
Analysts warn that if the Strait remains effectively closed or further attacks target Gulf energy facilities, prices could surge toward $90 or even above $100 per barrel — levels not seen since the early days of previous Middle East crises.
The oil market’s reaction is already feeding through into broader energy costs.
With crude acting as a key input for petrol, diesel and heating oil, retailers and motorists can expect higher pump prices in the weeks ahead.
And because energy costs are a major component of inflation, these supply risks have wider implications for economies from Europe to Asia that rely on stable, affordable oil and gas supplies.
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