Oil Prices Surge as Strikes on Iran Rattle Global Energy Markets

PUKMEDIA AI

Gold, silver and oil prices.

Oil prices rose sharply on Monday, 2 March 2026, as the repercussions of United States and Israeli military strikes on Iran reverberated across global energy markets. Oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was severely disrupted, while military operations continued across the region.

In early Asian trading, Brent crude jumped by 9 per cent, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude surged by 7 per cent shortly after markets opened. Both benchmarks later pared back some of their gains, trading up 4.7 per cent and 4.2 per cent respectively, at $76.27 and $69.82 per barrel.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz came to a complete standstill after Iran attacked three vessels, marking the first clear indication of a direct supply disruption. Around 20 per cent of the world’s oil and gas flows pass through the strategic waterway, which has long been a point of leverage for Tehran and remains a central focus for global markets as the conflict unfolds.

Analysts at Citigroup said in a note ahead of Monday’s trading: “We see Brent crude trading in the $80–$90 per barrel range in our baseline scenario, at least for the next week.”

They added that their core assumption was that Iran’s leadership would either change, or shift sufficiently to bring the conflict to an end within one to two weeks, or that Washington would opt to de-escalate following a change in leadership and a rollback of Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes within a similar timeframe.

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley raised its Brent crude forecast for the second quarter to $80 per barrel, up from $62.50.

The spike in oil prices coincided with a broader risk-off mood in financial markets. Futures contracts tracking the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq-100 pointed to declines of around 1 per cent on Wall Street as trading resumed.

Gold prices also climbed, reflecting a clear shift towards safe-haven assets. The precious metal rose by more than 2 per cent to approximately $5,390 per ounce in early trading, after gaining over 3 per cent the previous week amid an intensifying US military build-up in the region.

Among other precious metals, silver increased by 1.68 per cent to $95.35 per ounce in spot trading, building on gains recorded in February. Platinum rose by 0.74 per cent to $2,382.15, while palladium edged up 0.25 per cent to $1,790.60.



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