(RTTNews) – After initially extending yesterday’s surge, crude oil prices have given back some ground over the course of the trading day on Tuesday but remain sharply higher.
Crude for August delivery was last seen trading at $79.08 a barrel, up $0.94 or 1.2 percent, after spiking as much as 4 percent earlier in the day.
The initial jump by crude oil prices came amid concerns about the escalating conflict between the U.S. and Iran, which contributed to crude oil futures skyrocketing by more than 9 percent on Monday.
U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces successfully struck military targets across Iran during a five-hour mission late Monday to further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping.
Tehran responded with attacks targeting Bahrain, Jordan and two tankers associated with the United Arab Emirates.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also claimed that it downed an American MQ-1 drone over the Strait of Hormuz.
However, crude oil prices pulled back off their highs of the session after U.S. President Donald Trump backed down from his plan to impose a 20 percent fee on cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz under U.S. protection.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the fees would be replaced with trade and investment deals that various Gulf states will be making into the U.S.
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