<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oil prices jumped sharply on Thursday, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI)<\/strong> briefly crossing the $100 per barrel<\/strong> mark, as escalating attacks on energy infrastructure heightened fears of prolonged supply disruptions in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By 23:57 ET (03:57 GMT)<\/strong>, Brent crude surged 4.3% to $111.97 per barrel<\/strong>, while WTI rose 0.9% to $97.18 per barrel<\/strong>, after earlier touching an intraday high of $100.02<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Crude extended gains after reports indicated that Israel had targeted facilities in Iran\u2019s South Pars gas field<\/strong>\u2014the largest natural gas field in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iran responded with strikes on energy infrastructure across the region, including facilities in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia<\/strong>, raising concerns over a broader disruption to global energy supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tehran had previously threatened key assets such as Saudi Arabia\u2019s SAMREF and Jubail complexes<\/strong>, the UAE\u2019s Al Hisn gas field<\/strong>, and Qatar\u2019s Ras Laffan refinery<\/strong>, signaling a widening scope of potential targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Geopolitical tensions escalated further after reports suggested the U.S. is considering deploying thousands of troops to the Middle East. According to Reuters, potential objectives include securing oil tanker routes through the Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> and possibly reinforcing positions near Iran\u2019s Kharg Island<\/strong>, a major export hub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n President Donald Trump<\/strong> stated that the U.S. was not involved in the initial strike on South Pars, while warning Iran against further retaliation. He also indicated that additional escalation could lead to more severe consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ongoing conflict has significantly disrupted oil flows, particularly as the Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>\u2014a critical route for around 20% of global oil supply<\/strong>\u2014remains largely restricted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Analysts warn that prolonged shipping disruptions could force Gulf producers to reduce output, potentially turning temporary supply shocks into longer-term deficits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil prices advanced even in the face of traditionally negative factors, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier in the week, prices had briefly cooled after Iraq and Kurdish authorities agreed to resume exports via Turkey\u2019s Ceyhan port<\/strong>, and as global economies discussed releasing strategic reserves. However, these measures have so far done little to offset the scale of geopolitical risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With tensions escalating and no clear path to de-escalation, oil markets remain highly sensitive to developments in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As supply risks intensify and energy infrastructure becomes a direct target, crude prices are likely to stay volatile, with upside risks dominating the near-term outlook.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Oil prices jumped sharply on Thursday, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) briefly crossing the $100 per barrel mark, as escalating attacks on energy infrastructure heightened fears of prolonged supply disruptions in the Middle East. By 23:57 ET (03:57 GMT), Brent crude surged 4.3% to $111.97 per barrel, while WTI rose 0.9% to $97.18 per barrel, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":60920,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,6827,49,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-commodities-news","category-daily-economic-reports","category-economic-reports","category-market-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124832"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124833,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124832\/revisions\/124833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Energy infrastructure attacks drive rally<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Escalation fears deepen market anxiety<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Supply disruption risks remain elevated<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Oil rises despite bearish signals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Outlook<\/h3>\n\n\n\n