International crude oil prices surged more than one per cent on Monday in early trade amid fresh, heated diplomatic exchanges between Iran and the United States. The prices jumped after Saudi Arabia and the UAE reported fresh drone attacks early this morning. Brent crude futures for July delivery rose 1.80 per cent to $111.23 per barrel during early trade.
The benchmark touched an intraday high of $111.99 after opening near $110.13.
Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for July advanced 2.27 per cent to $103.31 per barrel. WTI traded within a day’s range of $101.64 to $104.36.
Oil markets reacted sharply after drone strikes near the UAE’s Barakah nuclear plant triggered a fire on Sunday. Reports suggest that an Iran-linked proxy was likely behind the attack.
The drone strikes have heightened tensions in West Asia, where the chances of another military confrontation have surged following back-to-back warnings from US President Donald Trump.
During previous military confrontations with the United States, Iran had targeted regional Arab countries with drones and fired missiles at US bases in several Gulf nations.
Trump on Monday issued a fresh warning to Iran, stating that time was ticking for Tehran to reach a peace deal.
There are confirmed reports from both US and Israeli media that the two countries are actively discussing additional military operations against Iran to retrieve enriched uranium.
Last week, Trump had stated that the US-Iran ceasefire was on “massive life support", signalling increasing uncertainty surrounding peace efforts in the region.
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