Oil iran war concerns pushed futures up about 2% at the start of the new trading week, as traders reacted to signs of a wider US-Iran conflict.
The move followed weekend developments rather than any change in supply or demand. An unnamed US official said Washington was planning for a wider war. Meanwhile, reports said the Pentagon was adding more military aircraft in the region.
That mix pointed to a longer campaign, not a near-term easing. As a result, traders appeared to add a risk premium to crude prices. The source article said volatility stayed high into the new week.
Oil Iran War Drives Early Trade
Fresh US casualties added to market concern. US Central Command said a service member died in Iraq on Saturday during a controlled blast of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian drone. Separately, unidentified remains were found at the Jordan base hit by Iran on Friday.
That raised the toll from the latest fighting. The article said two US troops had already been confirmed dead and one was missing after the Jordan attack. Therefore, at least three, and possibly four, American service members have died since fighting resumed a week ago.
The same report said the war had entered its fifth month. In addition, Iran abandoned the bilateral memorandum of understanding reached a month ago. Those developments reinforced the market view that the conflict could broaden.
Wider War Signals Support Crude
The unnamed US official, who the article said was familiar with internal administration talks, linked the wider war outlook to military planning. The official also said limits remained. Those limits included shrinking air defence and long-range munitions stockpiles, as well as constraints on sending more troops and aircraft because of battle damage.
Others echoed those readiness concerns. Seth Jones, who leads the defence and security department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said placing ground forces on islands in or along the Strait of Hormuz would be a mistake. He also said US forces were not prepared for standoff strikes from Iran.
President Trump, according to the article, did not rule out ground operations inside Iran. For now, oil iran war risks remained the main driver of crude at the weekly open.
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Source: InvestingLive
