Oil prices surged higher Tuesday, adding to the previous session’s hefty gains, as heightened conflict in the Middle East hit supply from Iran, while threats to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz continued to underpin disruption worries.
 
At 09:25 ET (14:25 GMT), Brent Oil Futures expiring in May rose 8.2% to $84.05 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures advanced 8.7% to $77.30 per barrel. Both contracts closed more than 7% higher after climbing as much as 13% to one-year highs on Monday.
 
The region has plunged into one of its most volatile periods in years following the weekend’s joint strike by the U.S. and Israel that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
 
Tensions intensified after Tehran threatened a full closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint that handles roughly a fifth of global seaborne oil trade.
 
Iranian officials vowed to attack any ship attempting to pass through the waterway, raising the prospect of disruption to crude flows from major Gulf producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates.
 
Additionally, Iraqi officials stated that the country has decreased oil production from the important Rumaila oil field by 700,000 barrels per day today.
 
The spike in oil has been underpinned by concerns that a prolonged conflict involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran could destabilise the broader Gulf region and draw in additional actors, further threatening production and export infrastructure.