Oil prices surge and stocks drop after Israel attacks Iran

The price of oil surged Friday in one of the market’s largest single-day increases in years, reflecting fears that a wider conflict in the Middle East could lead to serious energy supply disruptions.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, was up 5.9%, at nearly $71 a barrel. US oil jumped 8.6% to nearly $74 a barrel, after gaining as much as 13% earlier in the day. Those are the biggest intraday gains for each benchmark since March 2022, a month after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The surge illustrates “both immediate supply concerns and a growing sense that negative headlines could extend the timeline for escalation unlike the prior Israel-Iran episode,” Ahmad Assiri, research strategist at Pepperstone, a financial services firm, wrote in a research note.

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