NEW YORK: Oil prices jumped about 2% in early Thursday trading after Reuters reported fresh U.S. strikes overnight on an Iranian military site, escalating tensions even as Washington and Tehran negotiate to end their three-month conflict.
Brent crude futures rose $1.90, or 2.02%, to $96.19 a barrel by 0015 GMT, while the more active August contract gained $1.64 or 1.78%, to $93.89. The July contract is set to expire on Friday.
The U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were up $1.73, or 1.95%, at $90.41.
Both benchmarks slipped more than 5% to touch their lowest in a month in the previous session on the possibility of a U.S.-Iran deal to end their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. military launched new strikes in Iran targeting a military site that officials believed posed a threat to U.S. forces and commercial maritime traffic in the strait, a U.S. official told Reuters.
"Oil supply remains constrained, and key sticking points have yet to be resolved," ANZ commodity strategist Daniel Hynes said in a note.
In the U.S., crude oil stockpiles fell by 2.8 million barrels last week, the sixth straight week of declines, according to American Petroleum Institute data. [API/S]
Official inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration are due on Thursday, a day later than usual due to the Memorial Day holiday on Monday.
