On Monday, Brent oil prices surged by 8% to $78.22 per barrel following the attack by the U.S. and Israel on Iran, one of the main crude oil producers in OPEC+, and a country that also controls the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil and commercial traffic in the region. According to data from Bloomberg compiled by EFE, at 7:00 AM (6:00 GMT) on Monday, Brent crude prices jumped 8.03% to $78.22, its highest level since June. During the early morning, as an initial reaction to the weekend attacks by the U.S. and Israel on Iran, Brent reached a peak of $82.37, with a rise of over 13%. Analysts explain that amid tensions in the Middle East, the focus is on the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20% of global oil traffic flows, due to fears that the conflict could cause supply disruptions. The U.S. Department of Transportation issued a recommendation on Saturday for commercial vessels to avoid navigating the Strait, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Arabian Sea. Meanwhile, U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil is up more than 8.42% at $71.62 at this time, before the official market opening.
