Oil prices moved higher Friday after a top Iranian general was assassinated in a US airstrike ordered by Donald Trump.
Futures for Brent crude, a global benchmark, jumped 3.6% to settle at $68.60 per barrel on Friday. US oil futures gained 3.1%, settling at $63.05 per barrel. Both are on track for their biggest daily gains in about a month and their highest prices since September, when Saudi oil facilities came under attack.
General Soleimani, the head of IRGC's Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were assassinated on Friday morning in the United States' airstrike on their convoy in Baghdad airport.
The Pentagon said in a statement that the attack was carried out on the order of US President Donald Trump.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a statement that his country would take revenge for the assassination of Soleimani.
Oil prices spiked more than 14% in September after coordinated attacks on crucial Saudi Arabian energy production facilities disrupted 5% of the daily global oil supply.
The United States blamed Iran for those attacks, but prices pulled back quickly after Saudi officials said the kingdom would rely on reserves to keep exports stable. Iran denied that it was responsible while Yemen’s Houthis took responsibility.
A spate of attacks last year on oil tankers near the Iranian coast also demonstrates the potential for market disruption.