Oil prices plunge more than 5%

Oil prices have plunged more than 5% after Israel’s weekend airstrikes on Iran targeted military objectives, avoiding oil and nuclear facilities.

At the close of European markets, the price of Brent crude, Europe’s benchmark, fell by 5.4% to $71.9 per barrel.

If it closes the session with this drop, Brent crude will have declined more sharply than it has in a year, since October 2023.

At 14:02 (13:02 GMT), Brent was trading at $71.18, its lowest level since the start of the month. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the U.S. benchmark, was down 5.6% at 17:45 (16:45 GMT), reaching $67.8.

The declines followed confirmation that Israel’s strikes on Iran had not impacted oil, nuclear, or civilian facilities, as the U.S. requested, explained analysts at Renta 4.

According to Sergio Ávila from IG, the fact that Israel’s attacks were limited to specific military targets reduces concerns about “a disruption in the energy supply, bringing slight relief to the market.”

Similarly, market analyst Adrián Hostaled noted that the decision to spare oil facilities “minimizes the risk of Iranian oil operations being affected.”