More U.S. attacks lead to 9% jump in oil prices

As American warplanes pounded more Iranian targets in response to Iran’s attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and on U.S. allies in the Middle East, crude oil prices shot up more than 9% on Monday as Brent crude bounced back into the $80s.

The increase snapped a two-day losing streak for West Texas Intermediate and followed the U.S.’s fourth strike in a week against Iran on Sunday. Iran declared the strait closed until further notice while President Trump ordered a renewal of the U.S. naval blockade and said the U.S. would charge a fee for safe escort for cargo ships. Iran retaliated against U.S. allies with a reported strike on a Kuwaiti offshore drilling platform — the first direct hit on energy infrastructure in weeks.

West Texas Intermediate rose $6.45 or 9.03% to finish Monday at $77.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude gained $7.03 or 9.22% and closed at $83.04 a barrel.

Natural gas prices slipped $0.064 or 2.18% to close at $2.876 MMBtu.

Monday was a good day for a majority of Oklahoma energy stocks led by NGL Energy Partners with a strong 6% gain followed by 4% increases for Devon Energy and Mammoth Energy. On the down side, USA Rare Earth dropped 7%.