US oil prices exceeded $70 in electronic trading due to the risk of an Iranian strike on Israel

Oil futures Thursday ended higher and U.S. prices extended those gains to $70 a barrel in electronic trading as traders weighed the growing risk of an Iranian attack on Israel that would further raise tensions in the oil-rich Middle East.

Iran is reported to be preparing an attack in response to Israel’s recent strike on Iran. Axios reporting that this could happen within a few days.

“People may be significantly underestimating the risks of supply disruptions if the escalation continues,” said Matthew Polyak, managing partner at Hummingbird Capital. While major producers known as OPEC+ do have “spare capacity to deal with disruptions, it doesn’t happen overnight,” he said, estimating it would take at least six months to offset potential supply disruptions that could pose a sharp risk to growth crude oil prices. prices.