Oil jumps more than 3.0 percent after Hamas political leader assassinated
Istanbul, July 31 (Hibya) - U.S. crude oil futures jumped more than 3 percent on Wednesday after Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, renewing fears that the Middle East is teetering on the brink of a regional war.
West Texas Intermediate's (WTI) September contract is $77.28 per barrel, up $2.55, or 3.51 percent, year to date. U.S. oil has gained 7.9 percent, while Brent's September contract is $80.73 per barrel, up $2.10, or 2.67 percent, year to date. The global benchmark is ahead of 4.8 percent.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard accused Israel of assassinating Haniyeh at his residence in Tehran. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said it is Iran’s duty to punish Israel for this action, according to a Google-translated report from the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.
Haniyeh’s assassination casts even more uncertainty over a potential Gaza cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas. Haniyeh was a senior negotiator in the talks.
Oil gained ground amid exacerbated hostilities in the oil-rich Middle East region, where Israel has been fighting Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas since the latter’s terror attack in October.
Israel’s decision to carry out a retaliatory campaign in the Gaza Strip has since broadened the conflict, with Israel trading fire with other Iran-supported factions, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi.
Oil markets have so far absorbed the shocks of inching escalations in the Middle East, which were intermittently exacerbated by trade disruptions caused by Yemeni maritime attacks and by episodes of direct hostilities between Israel and Iran or Hezbollah.
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