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Oil Jumps Amid Growing Middle East Tensions

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Oil Jumps Amid Growing Middle East Tensions

Oil prices were higher Tuesday amid mounting tensions in the Middle East, with US President Donald Trump reportedly threatening to hit Iran's Pickaxe Mountain.

West Texas Intermediate crude was up 2.6% at $84.61 a barrel in late-afternoon trade, while Brent rose 2.4% to $91.34.

The US will hit the area of Pickaxe Mountain "probably pretty soon," news outlets reported, citing Trump. The underground facility is reportedly believed to be connected to Iran's nuclear program.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has hit Amazon.com's (AMZN) data infrastructure in Bahrain "with several cruise missiles and destroyed it," CNBC reported Tuesday, citing a statement by Tehran's state media outlet Fars News Agency.

Amazon didn't respond to' request for comment. The US e-commerce giant's shares were down 1% intraday.

Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan intercepted Iranian aerial attacks Tuesday, CNN reported. On Monday, the US Central Command said its forces had struck Iran again.

Two tankers carrying Saudi crude turned back in the Red Sea as Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis threatened to strike vessels using Saudi ports, news outlets reported Tuesday. The Houthis have threatened to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait several times during the recent Middle East conflict. That strait is a choke point for commercial ship traffic that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and global markets.

The International Energy Agency warned that escalating regional hostilities and threats to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait are further compounding energy security risks.

"The escalation in hostilities affecting the Strait of Hormuz and energy infrastructure in the region increases security of supply concerns and uncertainty over the market outlook," IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement Tuesday. "Threats to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which has become increasingly important as a route to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, exacerbate these concerns further."

For now, oil markets continue to benefit from "several cushioning factors," Birol said.

Crude prices plunged in May and June, but have rallied this month as tensions between the US and Iran intensified, with no signs of de-escalation.

Price: $247.59, Change: $-2.41, Percent Change: -0.96%

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