Oil prices jump 4% in wake of Hamas attack on Israel
Lights illuminate the processing plant at the Persian Gulf Star Co. (PGSPC) gas condensate refinery in Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Wednesday, Jan. 9. 2019.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Oil prices jumped 4% as the Israel-Hamas conflict extended into its third day following a surprise attack on Israel by Palestinian militants Hamas.
Global benchmark Brent traded 4.53% higher at $88.41 a barrel Monday, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 4.69% to $88.67 per barrel.
At dawn on Saturday during a major Jewish holiday, Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a multi-pronged infiltration into Israel — by land, sea and air using paragliders. The attack came hours after thousands of rockets were sent from Gaza into Israel.
At the time of publication, at least 700 Israelis have reportedly been killed, according to NBC News. The Palestinian Health Ministry, meanwhile, has recorded 313 deaths so far.
Oil prices jump following Hamas attack on Israel
While there is a surge in crude prices, analysts believe it will be a knee-jerk reaction, and likely temporary.
“For this conflict to have a lasting and meaningful impact on oil markets, there must be a sustained reduction in oil supply or transport,” said Vivek Dhar, Commonwealth Bank’s director of mining and energy commodities research.
“Otherwise, and as history has shown, the positive oil price reaction tends to be temporary and easily trumped by other market forces,” he wrote in a daily note. The conflict does not directly put any major source of oil supplies in danger, he added.
Neither side is a major oil player. Israel boasts two oil refineries with a combined capacity of almost 300,000 barrels per day. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the country boasts “virtually no crude oil and condensate production.” By a similar strand, the Palestinian territories produce no oil, data from EIA shows.
However, the conflict sits at the doorstep of a key oil producing and export region for global consumers.
A salvo of rockets is fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza City toward Israel, on October 8, 2023.
Mohammed Abed | AFP | Getty Images
And oil-rich Iran looms large as the market’s immediate concern.
“If western countries officially link Iranian intelligence to the Hamas attack, then Iran’s oil supply and exports face imminent downside risks,” Dhar said.
Oil exports coming out of Iran have been limited since former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 exited a nuclear accord and re-imposed sanctions aimed at curtailing revenue to Tehran.
“Under encouragement from the U.S. and secret nuclear talks, Iran saw its oil exports and production grow by some 600-k b/d to 3.2-m of output between end 2022 and mid-2023,” Citi said in a note.
There are concerns the conflict could spill into the region.
“There’s also a risk of the conflict escalating regionally. If Iran is sucked into it, there could also be supply issues, though we’re not at that stage yet,” Eurasia Group’s director of energy, climate and resources Henning Gloystein told CNBC in an email.
Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it launched attacks on three sites in the Shebaa Farms — a strip of land that sits at the intersection of the Lebanese-Syrian border and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
There could be “a pretty dramatic effect on the oil market” should the U.S. enforce sanctions on Iranian exports, said Josh Young, CIO of energy investment firm Bison Interests. “I think it’s appropriate to see oil, let’s say, [up] about $5 for WTI,” he forecasts.
With 40% of world exports going through the Strait of Hormuz, Rapidan Energy Group’s President Bob McNally projects a conflict between Israel and Iran could easily lead to a $5 to $10 bump in oil prices. The strait is considered to be the world’s most important oil transit chokepoint, and sits between Oman and Iran.
It’s not just Iran that investors have to keep an eye on, however.
McNally also told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” that crude prices could go “much higher” should there be involvement of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
“The way this becomes an authentic problem for the oil market, and contributes to a much bigger spike is if the market believed the fighting would spread to Hezbollah in Lebanon,” he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday noted the “limited firing” between Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Israel but said that “as of now, that’s quiet, but it’s something we’re watching very carefully.”
Chevron is not seeing signs that the U.S. is close to a recession even as President Donald Trump’s tariffs weigh on expectations for oil demand, CEO Mike Wirth said Tuesday.
“There’s no signs that we see at this point that we are in or close to a recession,” Wirth told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “There are signs that growth may be slowing and we have to always be prepared for that.”
The International Monetary Fund on Monday cut its growth outlook for the U.S. this year to 1.8%, down from 2.7% previously.
The oil market is expecting reduced demand as a consequence of Trump’s tariffs and the decision by OPEC+ increase production faster than expected, Wirth said. Chevron isn’t changing its capital spending plans in response to drop in prices, the CEO said.
U.S. crude oil prices have fallen about 11% since Trump announced his tariffs on April 2. West Texas Intermediate was last up about 72 cents at $63.80 per barrel. OPEC and the International Energy Agency have cut their demand outlooks for this year.
Wirth said U.S. onshore oil production in patches like the Permian Basin is likely to pull back if prices hit $60 per barrel. Offshore production likely won’t be affected, he said.
“That’s an area where if we were to be at a $60 price or even lower you’re likely to see activity pull back in this sector and you’ll see the production response over a few months,” Wirth said. “That’s what we should watch, not so much the deep water activity.”
Chevron is not expecting a major direct impact on its business from Trump’s tariffs as energy has largely been exempt from the levies, Wirth said.
“The effects that we feel are likely to be more the macroeconomic effects as they flow through the economy,” Wirth said. “The bigger issues would be what would it mean for growth, and global trade and how does that evolve.”
Executives at oil and gas companies were scathing in their criticism of Trump’s tariffs in an anonymous March survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, warning that steel tariffs were raising their costs and low prices could impact their activity.
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Little is known about super-secretive EV startup Slate, but the fledgling brand is rumored to be backed by Jeff Bezos and determined to shake up the existing electric order with an affordable lineup of compact SUVs and pickups with that golden $25,000 price tag.
Now, at least, we know what it’s gonna look like. The battle of the billionaires is on!
Redditor jonjopop over at the spotted subreddit spotted what looks like an early prototype of an unbranded SUV with bizarre “CryShare” wrap. CryShare, as a concept, seems to combine the functionality of a ride sharing app like Uber or Lyft with the familiar (to parent, anyway) idea that small babies will often sleep better in a moving car than in their own cribs … but that’s not what’s important here.
Instead, focus on the vehicle itself – parked on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Los Angeles without explanation or fanfare, this is our best look yet at the kind of vehicle(s) Slate is likely to reveal in the coming days.
Stumbled upon the Bezosmobile [Slate Automotive…idk?] being revealed with an absolutely bizarre marketing campaign
byu/jonjopop inspotted
Other local automotive journalists caught wind of the public unveiling, too – and our friends at The Autopian (Hi, Matt!) sent their own David Tracy out on the streets of LA to check it out. Tracy took the following video and posted it to Instagram.
The Slate breaking cover and causing buzz just ahead of what’s sure to be a painful Q1 earnings call for Tesla is a masterstroke of marketing – especially as doubts surrounding the viability of a “less expensive” Tesla Model Y or Model 3 continue to mount amid the uncertainty of Trump’s tariffs and declining sales of the brand’s more profitable models both at home and abroad.
As with so much involving Slate, however, there is nothing here written in stone – or even cast in cheese. Nothing has been announced, nothing is promised, and for all we know this might have more to do with the affordable Rivian brand launch, a new BYD, or be a viral marketing bit from some local Art Center design student in (relatively) nearby Pasadena. In fact, about the only thing I think we can say about Bezos (?) new Slate project with confidence today is this: Elon could probably use that drink.
SOURCES | IMAGES: Reddit, The Autopian.
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