Oil prices surged more than 2% on Monday as military clashes between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas ignited fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East.
Brent crude was up $2.28, or 2.7%, to $86.86 a barrel by 0859 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $85.23 a barrel, up $2.44 or nearly 3%. Both benchmarks spiked by more than $4 a barrel earlier in the session.
The surge in oil prices reversed last week’s downtrend — the largest weekly decline since March — in which Brent fell about 11% and WTI retreated more than 8% as a darkening macroeconomic outlook intensified concerns about global demand.
Union Jack Oil plc (LON:UJO) is an onshore oil and gas exploration company with a focus on drilling, development and investment opportunities in the United Kingdom hydrocarbon sector.