Oil prices jumped in reaction to Hamas leader assassination
After the announcement of the assassination of Hamas leader Haniyeh in Tehran, Oil prices jumped, with Brent crude climbing 1.5% to just below $80 a barrel.
Haniyeh, a chief negotiator for Hamas and based in Qatar, was in Tehran for the inauguration of Iran’s new president on Tuesday. He was martyred “in a treacherous Zionist airstrike on his residence” in the city, Hamas said in a statement early Wednesday. The media said his bodyguard also died.
Oil prices jumped, with Brent crude climbing 1.5% to just below $80 a barrel as of 12:20 p.m. in Singapore, though it’s still down this week. Gold also rose, Bloomberg reported.
Haniyeh, in his early 60s, was key to the ongoing cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas and his death has the potential to scupper them.