Oil Prices Surge as Middle East Attacks Continue and Diplomacy Stumbles

Oil prices initially jumped by over 3% in early Asian trade on Monday as fears of a major and extended supply disruption were stoked by continued attacks in the Middle East and the postponement of a crunch meeting between Gulf states and Iran.

At the time of writing, both benchmarks had fallen back slightly, with WTI futures trading at $102. 2 per barrel, 2. 16% higher on the day, and Brent futures up 2. 14% at $106. 8 per barrel.