Oil prices surged nearly 2% on Wednesday as tension escalated in the Middle East after hundreds were killed in a blast at a Gaza hospital, sparking concerns about potential oil supply disruptions from the region, according to Reuters.
Brent crude futures was up $1.55, or 1.7%, to $91.45 a barrel at 0810 GMT. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) futures were up $1.66, or 1.9%, at $88.32 a barrel.
Both benchmarks gained more than $2 to touch their highest levels in two weeks earlier in the session.
Markets factored in risk premiums after hundreds of Palestinians were killed in a blast at a Gaza City hospital on Tuesday that Israeli and Palestinian officials blamed on each other.
Jordan then cancelled a summit it was to host with U.S. President Joe Biden and Egyptian and Palestinian leaders. Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday, beginning a visit to consult on the spiralling Gaza war.
“This turn of diplomatic fortunes again garners fear of conflict spread and therefore the leap in oil,” said John Evans of oil broker PVM.
“A long occupation looms as the scenario that pushes Brent oil futures above $US100/bbl because it raises the risk that the Israel Hamas conflict expands and potentially draws in Iran directly,” added Vivek Dhar, an analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Geopolitical tensions aside, other drivers are also supporting oil prices.
U.S. crude stocks fell by a much-steeper-than-expected 4.4 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 13, compared to the forecast of a 300,000 barrel fall, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday.