Israel-Iran fighting sent crude oil prices soaring

With Israel attacking Iran’s nuclear weapons development and long-range missile sites and Iran returning in kind with a bombardment of missiles, crude oil prices shot up worldwide, gaining 7% on Friday.

As Iranian missiles rained down on Israeli towns and cities Friday, oil prices surged along with gold and the dollar. Gold went up 1.4% to $3,431 an ounce, close to its $3,500.05 record reached in April.

Investors were concerned the conflict will disrupt Middle Eastern oil and gas supplies and pushed prices higher.

Global benchmark Brent crude rose 7% at $74.23 a barrel. At one point in Friday’s trading, Brent soared upward more than 13%.

West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, gained 7.62% and finished the day’s trading at $72.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Natural gas prices climbed as well, rising nearly 3% while European gas prices soared 5%, reaching their highest level in 10 weeks.

Just as crude oil prices recorded big gains on Friday, Oklahoma energy stocks also were in positive territory. Vital Energy gained 6% and SandRidge Energy rose 5% for the day.