U.S. completes Iran strikes after Apache helicopter attack

Oil prices rose on Wednesday after the U.S. launched military strikes against Iran, raising concerns that renewed hostilities could threaten shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. crude oil futures for July delivery added 0.74% to $88.89 per barrel, paring gains after jumping over 1%. Brent futures, the international benchmark, for August delivery, rose 0.82% to $92.20 per barrel.

The U.S. military said it had completed strikes against Iranian military targets near the Strait of Hormuz. 

U.S. forces carried out strikes on Iran on Tuesday night after an American Army Apache helicopter was shot down a day earlier, according to U.S. Central Command. Centcom described the operation as a defensive and measured response to what it called Iranian aggression.

President Donald Trump said earlier Tuesday that Iran had brought down a U.S. helicopter conducting patrols near the Strait of Hormuz and indicated that the U.S. would retaliate.

“The two pilots involved in the attack are safe and uninjured,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”

Rystad Energy said the shutdown of 11.8 million barrels a day of production across six Gulf producers has created the most severe oil supply disruption in modern history. The consultancy estimates cumulative production losses have reached 1 billion barrels and warned that each additional month of conflict could erase another 350 million barrels of output.