The military attacks on Iran and its responses sent global oil prices to $84 a barrel at one point during Wednesday’s trading. US prices have climbed to about $75 a barrel.
Brent crude finally finished the day at $81.67 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate, considered the U.S. benchmark, closed at $75.21 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Prices for the two benchmarks surged after the U.S. and Israel launched military attacks Saturday against Iran, claiming Iran was preparing to attack US and Israeli forces in the Middle East. The bombing by all three has been continuous since last Saturday.
Adding to the rising energy costs was the closing of the Strait of Hormuz through which oil tankers pass. Now they are threatened by missile attacks from Iran and the shutdown cut off nearly lone-fifth of global oil supplies. Hundreds of vessels are anchored outside the strait.
Natural gas prices reversed on Wednesday, falling after two consecutive days of gains and settling under $3 MMBtu. They closed at $2.925 MMBtu, falling $0.129 or 4.22%.
Oklahoma energy stocks split the day between those firms with gains and companies with losses. Empire Petroleum suffered a nearly 10% loss while Mammoth Energy rose a strong 6%.