The Brent crude oil barrel, a benchmark for Europe, was up more than 4% before the stock exchanges of the Old Continent opened and was placed above 97 dollars. The rebound comes after Iran's attacks on Israel in the last few hours and the blocking of talks between the United States and the Central Asian country to end the war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic passage through which a quarter of the oil and gas consumed in the world transits.
In parallel, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) barrel, a benchmark in the United States, also rose more than 4%, reaching 94.4 dollars.
At the end of last Friday's session on European markets, Brent was trading around 93 dollars and WTI was trading near 91 dollars.
The sharp rebound in crude oil in the early hours of this Monday comes after Iran launched several waves of projectiles against northern Israel on Sunday, which activated anti-aircraft sirens in almost 300 points of Israeli territory. The offensive was a response to the Israeli bombing of southern Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, on the same Sunday. Israel's defenses managed to intercept and shoot down all the missiles.
US President Donald Trump indicated a few hours ago that he would call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ask him not to respond militarily to the attack from Iran against Israeli territory in order to facilitate a negotiated solution to the conflict.
Likewise, Trump has urged Iran to stop missile attacks against Israeli territory and to return to the negotiating table to reach an agreement. "What I would suggest to Iran is: you have launched your missiles. Enough. Come back to the table and reach an agreement," the US leader pointed out early this morning.
Despite Trump's words, the Israel Defense Forces reported early this morning the launch of air attacks against military targets in western and central Iran. Thus, several explosions were recorded in Tehran, as well as in the cities of Isfahan and Tabriz, in the center and northwest of the country, respectively.
OPEC+ raises its output by 188,000 barrels per day
Amidst this escalation, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, in its expanded OPEC+ format, has communicated that it will increase its crude oil production by another 188,000 barrels per day starting in July, in accordance with the pact reached at its second meeting following the unexpected decision by the United Arab Emirates, announced in May, to leave the group amid the Iran war.
At the close of its virtual meeting this Sunday, the seven OPEC+ members who had already announced additional voluntary cuts in April and November 2023 (Algeria, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Oman, and Russia), as well as last month, have decided to activate a "production adjustment" starting next month, according to a statement released today by the organization.
All these countries have committed to "continue closely monitoring and assessing market conditions" and have stressed the need to "adopt a prudent approach and maintain full flexibility to increase, pause, or reverse the gradual elimination of voluntary production adjustments," including those approved three years ago.
Likewise, they ratified their commitment to fully compensate for any overproduction accumulated since January 2024. The deadline for this compensation will be extended until the end of December 2026.
Sharp declines in Asian stock markets and pressure on Europe
In this scenario, futures on the main European indices anticipate drops of more than 1% at the opening this Monday. The Ibex 35 will start the session at 18,344.9 points.
For now, the impact of the new wave of attacks in the Middle East is translating into strong sales in Asian markets.
China's Shenzhen index is down 3%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng is down 1.7%. Japan's Nikkei is down more than 4% and South Korea's Kospi has suffered a collapse of more than 8%.