Crude oil prices rose up to 3 per cent on March 17 as fresh drone strikes by Iran on energy infrastructure continued to instigate fears of a global energy crisis.
Early morning on March 17, Iranian drones struck the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), triggering a fire, the emirate’s media office said, citing authorities. Officials reported no injuries.
In another incident earlier today, Iran fired drones and rockets at the US Embassy in Baghdad. Iraqi security sources described it as the most intense assault since the attacks began.
In earlier attacks on March 16, the Shah natural gas field in the UAE was hit by Iranian drones, triggering a fire, Bloomberg reported, as the conflict entered its third week. Iranian drones and missiles also targeted an Iraqi oil field and a key port in the UAE, the report added.
The Brent crude oil futures rose as much as 3 per cent to $103.23 per barrel, while the US oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil gained up to 3.23 per cent to $95.45 per barrel.
In the domestic derivatives market, crude oil futures surged over 2.41 per cent to Rs 8,885 a barrel on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).
Nifty Oil & Gas index fell as much as 0.40 per cent today, extending its fall for the third straight session. Since the US-Israel-Iran war started on February 28, the index has declined around 9.80 per cent.
