Brent crude futures for June delivery fell 24 cents to $90.21 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for May delivery fell 38 cents to 85, $28 per barrel at 12:56 GMT.
The attack involving more than 300 missiles and drones was the first against Israel from another country in more than three decades. This had raised concerns about a wider regional conflict affecting oil traffic across the Middle East.
But the attack, which Iran said was retaliation for an airstrike on its consulate in Damascus, caused only modest damage, with the missiles shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system. Israel, which is at war with Iran-backed Hamas militants in Gaza, has neither confirmed nor denied striking the consulate.
While Israeli officials have said the country’s war cabinet favors retaliation, the United States has said it will not participate in any offensive against Iran. World powers, other Arab countries and the UN secretary-general have appealed for restraint.
“The Iranian retaliatory missile and drone attack on Israel yesterday morning appears to be of sufficient magnitude to avenge the deaths of Iranian military personnel in Syria, without being damaging enough to trigger a further escalation of hostilities at this stage,” he said. said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG. customer rating. Oil benchmarks had risen on Friday in anticipation of a retaliatory attack by Iran, touching their highest levels since October. But prices still ended the week down about 1% after the International Energy Agency lowered its forecast for oil demand growth this year.
Despite the limited damage to Israel, analysts widely expected at least a short-lived price hike this morning.
The attack marks an “unprecedented and dangerous development in an already unstable region,” said Jorge Leon, senior vice president of Rystad Energy.
Analysts said larger and more lasting price effects from rising prices would require significant supply disruption, such as constraints on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz near Iran.
So far, the Israel-Hamas conflict has had little tangible impact on oil supplies.
A “less certain path to a Fed rate cut” due to persistent U.S. inflation also weighed on prices, Sycamore said. “However, in the medium term, continued geopolitical instability in the Middle East and Europe means all risks remain to the upside for crude oil towards $90.”
Brent crude futures for June delivery fell 24 cents to $90.21 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for May delivery fell 38 cents to 85, $28 per barrel at 12:56 GMT.
The attack involving more than 300 missiles and drones was the first against Israel from another country in more than three decades. This had raised concerns about a wider regional conflict affecting oil traffic across the Middle East.
But the attack, which Iran said was retaliation for an airstrike on its consulate in Damascus, caused only modest damage, with the missiles shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system. Israel, which is at war with Iran-backed Hamas militants in Gaza, has neither confirmed nor denied striking the consulate.
While Israeli officials have said the country’s war cabinet favors retaliation, the United States has said it will not participate in any offensive against Iran. World powers, other Arab countries and the UN secretary-general have appealed for restraint.
“The Iranian retaliatory missile and drone attack on Israel yesterday morning appears to be of sufficient magnitude to avenge the deaths of Iranian military personnel in Syria, without being damaging enough to trigger a further escalation of hostilities at this stage,” he said. said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG. customer rating. Oil benchmarks had risen on Friday in anticipation of a retaliatory attack by Iran, touching their highest levels since October. But prices still ended the week down about 1% after the International Energy Agency lowered its forecast for oil demand growth this year.
Despite the limited damage to Israel, analysts widely expected at least a short-lived price hike this morning.
The attack marks an “unprecedented and dangerous development in an already unstable region,” said Jorge Leon, senior vice president of Rystad Energy.
Analysts said larger and more lasting price effects from rising prices would require significant supply disruption, such as constraints on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz near Iran.
So far, the Israel-Hamas conflict has had little tangible impact on oil supplies.
A “less certain path to a Fed rate cut” due to persistent U.S. inflation also weighed on prices, Sycamore said. “However, in the medium term, continued geopolitical instability in the Middle East and Europe means all risks remain to the upside for crude oil towards $90.”