Prices extended gains in London afternoon trading after US President Donald Trump tweeted “Iran made a very big mistake!”, following the downing of a US military drone by the IRGC.
According to Financial Times, Brent crude jumped 4.5 per cent to trade at its highest levels of the month at $64.62 a barrel, with the international oil marker on course for its biggest single session gain since January.
WTI, the US benchmark, rose nearly 6 per cent to $56.95 a barrel, its biggest one day rise of 2019.
“Iran appears to be sending a signal how oil supplies to economies could be restricted,” said Charlie Robertson, global chief economist at Renaissance Capital.
In a statement issued early on Thursday, IRGC said a US-made Global Hawk surveillance drone was brought down by its Air Force near the Kouh-e Mobarak region, which sits in the central district of Jask County, after the aircraft violated Iranian airspace.
Despite US claims that the drone had been flying over international waters, Iran says it has retrieved sections of drone in its own territorial waters where it was shot down. Foreign Minister Zarif said in a tweet hours after the incident that Iran would “take this new aggression to UN & show that the US is lying about international waters.”
MNA/PR