Global oil prices increased by nearly 4% on Wednesday after fresh military action involving the United States, Saudi Arabia and Iran raised concerns about energy supplies in the Middle East.
Lower U.S. crude inventories and expectations that OPEC+ could pause planned production increases also supported the market.
Brent crude futures rose $3.30, or 3.9%, to $87.39 a barrel by 0300 GMT. Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $3.05, or 3.8%, to $82.31 a barrel.
What Military action raises concerns over oil supplies?
Oil prices increased after the U.S. military said it intercepted ballistic missiles launched by Iran towards U.S. forces in the Middle East.
Washington described the incident as “an attempted surprise attack” by Tehran.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards later said they fired several ballistic missiles at a U.S. air base and a U.S. Central Command facility in Jordan.
At the same time, Saudi Arabia said its armed forces, working with U.S. Central Command, carried out targeted strikes against Iran-backed groups in Iraq. Saudi authorities accused the groups of launching drone attacks against the kingdom’s oil infrastructure.
According to analysts at ING, Saudi Arabia also intercepted drones from Iran-backed groups in Iraq that were targeting Saudi energy facilities. They added that U.S. and Saudi forces struck weapons sites across eastern Iraq.
The developments have reduced expectations that tensions in the Persian Gulf will ease in the near term, increasing concerns about potential disruptions to global energy supplies.
Lower U.S. inventories and OPEC+ outlook add support
The market also received support from falling U.S. crude inventories. Market sources, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute, said U.S. crude stockpiles declined by around 3.3 million barrels during the week ended July 24.
Traders are now waiting for official inventory figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which are due later on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that OPEC+ is likely to pause planned oil production increases for three months from October after completing the scheduled return of barrels following earlier voluntary production cuts.
The combination of rising geopolitical tensions, tighter U.S. crude supplies and the prospect of slower output growth pushed oil prices higher, as traders assessed the outlook for global supply.
More:
Last modified: July 29, 2026
