Oil prices jumped around 4 percent in European trade on Friday amid supply concerns and heightened geopolitical risks in Israel and Gaza.<\/p>\n
Brent crude futures jumped 3.7 percent to $89.16 a barrel, while WTI crude futures were up 3.9 percent at $86.14.<\/p>\n
Supply concerns resurfaced after the U.S. tightened sanctions against Russian crude exports.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Treasury Department said that it has imposed its first set of sanctions on two companies that shipped Russian oil in violation of a multinational price cap of $60 a barrel. <\/p>\n
Russia is the world’s second-largest oil producer and it is feared that the new sanctions could tighten global supply.<\/p>\n
The oil market is also grappling with rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East after Israel’s military today called for all civilians of Gaza City, more than 1 million people, to relocate south within 24 hours.<\/p>\n
The Israeli military said it would operate “significantly” in Gaza City in the coming days and civilians would only be able to return when another announcement was made.<\/p>\n
“Now is a time for war,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said ahead of an expected ground invasion.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Iran said opening a “new front” against Israel would depend on Israel’s actions in Gaza.<\/p>\n
“Officials of some countries contact us and ask about the possibility of a new front (against Israel) being opened in the region,” said Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian during a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.<\/p>\n
“We tell them that our clear answer regarding future possibilities is that everything depends on the actions of the Zionist regime in Gaza,” he said, according to a statement from the Iranian foreign ministry. <\/p>\n