Oil prices rose sharply when market trading began Sunday. The price hikes came as U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory strikes against Israel and U.S. military installations around the Gulf sent disruptions through the global energy supply chain. According to FactSet, a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at around $79 per barrel Sunday night, up about 8% from $72.87 on Friday. Traders were betting the supply of oil from Iran and elsewhere in the region could slow or grind to a halt. Also, countries that are part of the OPEC+ oil cartel have announced they will boost production of crude oil.
