Oil Plunges as Iran Response to US Strikes Spares Energy Assets

Oil plunged by more than 7% as Iran’s response to US military strikes spared energy infrastructure, allaying investor concerns that the conflict would severely disrupt supplies from the Middle East.

West Texas Intermediate slumped below $70 a barrel after Iran fired missiles at a US air base in Qatar in retaliation for President Donald Trump’s weekend airstrikes on three of its nuclear facilities. Traders had initially feared that Iran’s retaliatory response would involve a closure of the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil passes. The barrage was intercepted and did not result in ...