Following Israel’s rare strike in Doha, Qatar, which killed a Qatari security officer and many Hamas members, oil prices spiked further on Wednesday.
Energy markets were instantly rocked by the incident, which was the first of its sort to occur in Qatar and set up a diplomatic storm.
As traders took geopolitical threats into account, WTI crude increased 1.37% to $63.11, while Brent advanced 1.32% to $66.89. Despite exporting very little crude, analysts pointed out that Qatar is a major provider of natural gas and a key link in the Gulf’s energy system.
The strike coincides with ongoing supply-side pressures, like as U.S. shale pullbacks and OPEC+ production adjustments, which have caused additional volatility in global oil benchmarks.