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Breakdown of the latest developments on the global exchanges
Oct 11, 2019, 12:00 PM GMT
#Energy

Oil Jumps Following a Missile Strike on Iranian Tanker

Iranian State TV, cited by the BBC, reported that an Iranian oil tanker suffered an explosion caused by a deliberate missile strike.

According to the initial reports, the target of the attack was the vessel Sinopa, which is a property of Iran’s national tanker company (NITC), however, the company later stated that it was actually the tanker Sabiti. The BBC also reported that

“Initial media reports said the vessel was hit by missiles. But Iran's national tanker company (NITC) denied the claims, and said the fire had been put out and the oil spillage reduced to a minimum.”

Reportedly, the cause of the fire is still being investigated, and yet the market was quick to react to the news.

The price of the WTI soared on the speculations that the alleged missile strike’s perpetrator was Saudi Arabia.

On the 14th of September, two of the world's biggest oil production facilities in Saudi Arabia were targeted by missiles, which American officials claimed were launched from Iran. You can read more about the attack here.

Thus, speculations quickly ignited today alleging this morning’s explosion on the tanker to be a retaliatory strike by Saudi Arabia.

Regardless, at the current time there is no definitive answer as to what caused the fires on the tanker, and whether it was a missile strike at all.

During today’s trading session the price of the crude oil quickly soared with close to 2 dollars, following the release of the news, however, some of the initial gains were then lost as the price partially corrected itself.

The commodity is currently trading at around 54.40 dollars per barrel, which amounts to 0.97 per cent daily gains. Should the price manage to successfully break above the minor resistance level at 54.88, the next likely target will be 56.07