Oil prices climbed more than 3% early Wednesday after a blast at a hospital in Gaza City killed hundreds of people.
Both Israel and Hamas said the other side was to blame for the explosion in which Palestinian officials say at least 500 people were killed. The event prompted President Joe Biden to postpone a trip to Jordan to attend a regional summit on Gaza. Biden, en route to Israel, said his national security team is investigating the explosion. The president arrived in Israel early Wednesday.
Biden appeared to back Israel’s claim that it wasn’t responsible for the blast.
“Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team—not you,” he said to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He also noted that others aren’t sure who is responsible which means “we’ve got to overcome a lot of things.”
Violence in the Middle East is almost always disruptive to the oil market because of the complex web of allegiances of producing countries in the region. While there isn’t much oil in Israel or Jordan, the risk is that the war widens to involve Iran, which ships millions of barrels a day. Other states in the region such as Saudi Arabia are among the biggest crude producers in the world.
Biden is aiming to prevent a wider regional conflict with his visit, while also reaffirming his support for Israel.
West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. standard, was trading 3.2% higher at $89.43 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, was 3% higher at $92.62. Both contracts are up more than 7% over the past week.
Gold prices were also rising Wednesday as investors sought safe-haven assets. It added 0.9% in early trading. Gold has gained more than 3% in the past week.
Write to Brian Swint at brian.swint@barrons.com
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