Crude oil prices rose sharply Wednesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump said his armed forces will hit Iran hard in retaliation for an attempted surprise attack on American forces in the Middle East.
Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, gained about 6.5% to $89.52 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures advanced about 6.3% to $84.26.
Trump told Fox News that Iran "is going to get a beating" after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at U.S. forces. “We’ll be hitting them hard,” the president said.
Iran targeted a U.S. base in Jordan, according to a report from Axios. U.S. Central Command said the missiles were successfully intercepted.
U.S. and Saudi forces, meanwhile, struck "multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites" in eastern Iraq on Tuesday, retaliating against more than 30 drone attacks in the past three days by "Iran-aligned terrorists," Centcom said.
The attempted attack by Iran shattered a brief pause in fighting. Oil futures sold off earlier this week as the conflict seemed to be on a path toward de-escalation.
