Oil Jumps After U.S. Attack Kills Iranian General Qassem Soleimani

The International Oil Price Rose Sharply Following the U.S. Attack on an Airport in Baghdad, Capital of Iraq, Early This Friday.

Oil surged as tensions in the Middle East intensified after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered an attack near Baghdad International Airport that killed a prominent Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and other military officials in Baghdad.

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Futures contracts in New York and London rose over 4% after the attack. The attack killed Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian general who led the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards.

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U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Thursday that the United States was prepared to send more forces to Iraq following an attack on its embassy in Baghdad this week.

The United States and Iran are already facing President Donald Trump’s economic campaign against Tehran and suspicions of Iranian reprisals. Saudi Arabia’s energy facilities, as well as foreign oil tankers in and around the Persian Gulf, were targeted in a series of attacks last year – a region that includes the five largest OPEC producers.

“I expect tensions in the region to escalate now”, said Howie Lee, an economist from Singapore at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. “Entering an election year in the U.S., President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran may intensify further”.

Brent for March settlement rose by $2.81, or 4.2%, to $69.06 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe Exchange based in London, as of 10:26 a.m. Singapore time. The contract rose 25 cents to close at $66.25 on Thursday.

West Texas Intermediate for February delivery rose by $2.66, or 4.4%, to $63.84 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 12 cents to close at $61.18 on Thursday.

The strike intensifies an already tense situation between the U.S. and key oil producers, Iran and Iraq. The U.S. embassy complex in Baghdad was stormed by protesters this week following a rare direct American attack on an Iran-backed militia in the country.

The two Middle Eastern countries pumped more than 6.7 million barrels per day of oil last month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, over one-fifth of OPEC‘s production.