US crude oil futures surged as much as 4% on Thursday after a tanker was attacked in the Gulf of Oman, a key waterway used to transport energy supplies from the Middle East, CNN reports.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, was up 3% at $61.76 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI futures rose 2.6% to $52.48 a barrel., the WSJ reported.
Four vessels and Saudi oil interests in the region were attacked in May. A U.S. official accused Iran of being behind the tanker attacks in May and Washington ratcheted up its military presence in the region immediately afterward, moving an aircraft carrier into the region.