Crude oil prices are up more than 2% on Sept. 8 and nearing $100 U.S. a barrel after the U.S. and Iran continued to exchange missile fire over the weekend.
Reports that Iran and its Houthi-backed militia have attacked Saudi Arabia energy facilities has raised fears of escalating hostilities between the U.S. and Iran and sent oil prices sharply higher.
Brent crude oil, the international standard, is up 2% on the day and trading as high as $99.16 U.S. a barrel.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil, the U.S. standard, is up 3% and trading right around $95 U.S. per barrel.
Crude prices shot up after Saudi Arabia’s government confirmed that operations at some energy facilities had been halted after Iran missile fire and strikes by Houthi militants.
There are media reports that emergency services in Saudi Arabia are working to contain fires at energy facilities across the country, which is the world’s largest oil exporter.
Those same reports say that the Houthis attacked energy facilities in southern Saudi Arabia, hitting them with drones and ballistic missiles.
The latest attacks by Iran and its proxies come after the U.S. military struck three Iranian oil tankers on Sept. 5.
The tit-for-tat strikes between the U.S. and Iran have pushed gasoline prices at the pumps, as well as diesel fuel, to record levels.
Commodities analysts at Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS) have warned that crude oil prices could return to $120 U.S. a barrel if the situation in Iran worsens.
Goldman Sachs added in a note to clients that it expects oil shipping disruptions in the Middle East to continue into 2027, with production gradually recovering by the second half of next year.
The rise in crude prices has leading oil stocks such as Chevron (CVX) and ExxonMobil (XOM) up about 1% on Sept. 8.
