Oil Rebounds as Fresh U.S. Strikes on Iran Renew Middle East Tensions

Oil prices rebounded after reports of additional U.S. airstrikes on Iran.

West Texas Intermediate rose nearly 2% intraday on June 9 and traded near $90 a barrel, Bloomberg reported. Crude had dropped 3.4% a day earlier, but regained ground as tensions in the Middle East flared again.

The rebound followed fresh U.S. strikes against Iran. U.S. Central Command said it carried out defensive strikes on Iran at the direction of President Donald Trump.

CENTCOM said the operation was in response to the recent downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter. It described the action as a proportional response to what it called an unprovoked Iranian attack.

Iran's state-run IRIB reported that Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz was struck and that at least six explosions were recorded.

Earlier, Trump said a U.S. Army Apache helicopter patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz had come under attack by Iran and signaled retaliation.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the country's military would respond to any attack or threat.

The strikes have raised concerns in the market that they could weigh on the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran and complicate peace talks in the Middle East.

Saul Kavonic, a senior energy analyst at MST Marquee, said the strikes underscored how far the U.S. and Iran remain from an agreement. Still, because the response appeared limited rather than the start of a full-scale war, markets continue to put greater weight on the prospect of negotiations than on a broader conflict.