Oil prices spike near $120 per barrel before falling back slightly today as the Iran war intensifies, threatening production and shipping in the Middle East and pummeling financial markets.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, surged to $119.50 per barrel but later was trading at $112.98.
West Texas Intermediate, the light, sweet crude oil produced in the United States, spiked at $119.48 per barrel but fell back to $110.17.
The war’s toll on civilian targets grew as Bahrain accused Iran of striking a desalination plant vital to drinking water supplies, and oil depots in Tehran smoldered following Israeli strikes.
Oil prices have surged as the war, now in its second week, ensnares countries and places that are critical to the production and movement of oil and gas from the Persian Gulf.
