Wednesday 21/2025 – 09:22 AM
Oil prices jumped by more than 1% on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, after a CNN report that Israel was preparing to strike an Iranian nuclear facilities, which raised fears that the conflict will lead to the Middle East supply disturbance.
By 00:03 GMT, Brent crude futures for the month of July increased 86 cents, or 1.32% to $ 66.24 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate crude futures for the month of July rose 90 cents or 1.45%, registering 62.93 dollars.
CNN reported yesterday, Tuesday, quoting American officials familiar with that new intelligence information obtained by the United States indicates that Israel is preparing to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, according to Reuters.
The news network, quoting officials, added that it was not clear whether the Israeli leaders had made a final decision, and US crude futures rose by more than two dollars a barrel in the wake of the publication of the report, while Brent crude futures rose by more than dollars.
The prices of the dismissal were affected by the news of Iran
Iran is the third largest producer among the members of the OPEC oil exporting countries, and any Israeli attack may lead to a disturbance of its crude supply.
There are also fears that Iran’s possibility, in the event of an attack, is also prohibited by preventing oil tankers’ flows through the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf, however, signs of increased supplies have emerged, and sources in the market reported, quoting the numbers of the American Petroleum Institute yesterday, that crude oil stocks in the United States rose last week while gasoline stocks and distillation products decreased.
The sources, whose identity was not disclosed, said that crude oil stocks in the United States are the largest crude consumer in the world, increased by 2.5 million barrels in the week ending May 16.
Investors are also awaiting US government oil stock data issued by Energy Information Department later on Wednesday.
A source in the sector revealed that Kazakhstan’s oil production increased by 2% in May, an increase that defies the pressure of OPEC and its allies on the country to reduce its production.
