Oil prices rose on Friday morning with both Brent and US crude trading higher after Israel carried out a military attack on Iran.
ADVERTISEMENTBoth oil benchmarks gained in early trading, initially jumping over 3% on news of explosions in Iran.
Global benchmark Brent traded 1.73% higher at $88.62 a barrel after topping $90 earlier, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 1.75% to $84.1 per barrel.
The price of gold also rose to a fresh all-time high of $2,411.09 per ounce, as investors turned to the deemed safe haven asset.
“Financial markets had a rough week amid escalating tensions in the Middle East after reports of explosions and a possible Israeli airstrike in Iran. This added to investor concerns following disappointing corporate results and hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials,” market analysts at IG said on Friday morning.
“The news from Iran drove up prices for safe-haven assets like gold, the US dollar and Japanese yen, while stocks fell and bonds rallied. Comments from a Fed official warning rates may need to go higher if data calls for it also rattled investors who had been expecting rate cuts later this year,” IG analysts added in a note to clients.
More to follow…