Oil prices rise after drone attack kills three U.S. troops, escalating Mideast crisis

Brent crude oil rose as much as 1.5% at the start of trading in Asia early Monday after a drone strike by Iran-backed Houthi terrorists killed three U.S. service members in Jordan, in an attack that surely will raise pressure on President Biden to confront Iran directly.

The attack, which also wounded at least 25 service members, marked the first American deaths from enemy fire since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

Front-month March Brent crude (CO1:COM) recently traded up ~1% to $84.38/bbl after hitting as high as $84.80/bbl, while U.S. WTI crude (CL1:COM) rose as high as $79.10/bbl on Nymex.

ETFs: (NYSEARCA:USO), (BNO), (UCO), (SCO), (USL), (DBO), (DRIP), (GUSH), (NRGU), (USOI)

Late last week, a Houthi missile hit an oil tanker carrying a cargo of Russian fuel in the Red Sea, climaxing a week that saw U.S. crude oil climb to its highest since mid-November.

“While global oil prices have yet to fully reflect the escalating tensions in the Red Sea, the events of the weekend are likely to catalyze a rebasing of expected outcomes for both the security of supply as well as for oil prices,” RBC Capital analyst Michael Tran wrote in response to the events.