Oil prices soar more than 10 per cent after Saudi plant attacks
Hong Kong: Oil prices surged more than 10 per cent Monday after attacks on two Saudi Arabian plants that slashed output in the world's top producer by half, with Donald Trump blaming Iran and raising the possibility of a military strike on the country.
West Texas Intermediate jumped 10.68 per cent to USD 60.71 and Brent climbed 11.77 per cent to USD 67.31 in early Asia trading following the blasts at facilities run by state-owned giant Aramco.
The attack by Tehran-backed Huthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is bogged down in a five-year war, effectively shut down six percent of the global oil supply.
Brent soared almost 20 per cent at one point on Monday, while WTI surged around 15 per cent before paring the gains.
Trump said Sunday the US was "locked and loaded" to respond to the attack, while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: "The United States will work with our partners and allies to ensure that energy markets remain well supplied and Iran is held accountable for its aggression."
Tehran denies the accusations but the news has revived fears of a conflict in the tinderbox Middle East after a series of attacks on oil tankers earlier this year that were also blamed on Iran.
"Tensions in the Middle East are rising quickly, meaning this story will continue to reverberate this week even after the knee-jerk panic in oil markets this morning," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.
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Family of five from Bengaluru killed in road accident in Andhra
Palamaneru (Andhra Pradesh) (PTI): Five members of a family from Bengaluru died on the spot after the car in which they were travelling to Tirupati rammed into a stationary truck in Chittoor district on Wednesday, a police official said.
The deceased included three women, and the accident occurred on the four-lane highway near Palamaneru at around 8.45 am on Wednesday, police said.
"Five members of a family travelling from Bengaluru to Tirupati were killed on the spot when their car rammed into a stationary truck near Palamaneru," the official told PTI.
According to police, the accident is suspected to have occurred due to overspeeding and the driver possibly feeling sleepy.
Meanwhile, relatives of the deceased have been informed and are on their way to the accident site, the official added.
