daniel chigunwe
Oil prices jumped more than 3 percent on Friday after Israel carried out a strike on Iran, triggering fears of an expanding war in the Middle East.
Israel carried out a limited military strike against Iran and is currently assessing the strike’s effectiveness and damage caused, a source familiar with the situation told NBC News. The operation was conducted in the early hours of Friday morning local time.
Both oil benchmarks pared gains after initially jumping over 3 percent on news of explosions in Iran. Global benchmark Brent traded 1,73 percent higher at US$88,62 a barrel after topping US$90 earlier, while the US West Texas Intermediate rose 1,75 percent to US$84,1 per barrel.
Safe haven assets also rose. Spot gold prices surged to a fresh all-time high of 2,411.09 per ounce, while the yen strengthened 0,45 percent to 153,93 against the US dollar.
Iran’s Fars news agency reported that explosions were heard near the airport in Isfahan, and that flights to Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz airports have been suspended. Flight tracking site Flight Radar 24 showed that multiple flights were diverted over Iranian airspace early on Friday.
A Telegram channel affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that there were no explosions on the ground in Isfahan and that the explosive sounds were caused by Iran’s defenses. The country’s armed forces also said that nuclear facilities in the Isfahan province were “in complete security.”
Israel last week vowed to “exact a price” from Iran in response to the weekend’s large-scale aerial assault on the Jewish state.
A day earlier, Iran struck military targets inside Israel, launching more than 300 missiles and drones, in retaliation for an Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Damascus, Syria. – CNBC Africa
Online Reporter