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Oil prices surge past $95 as US-Iran strikes intensify

The Punch July 22, 2026

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July 22, 2026 10:32 pm File photo. Crude oil By Agency Report Kindly share this story: World oil prices jumped on

Wednesday, with the benchmark international contract Brent North Sea crude surpassing $95 for the first time in nearly

six weeks as the United States and Iran carried out more strikes. Crude futures went on to give up some of the gains but

still rose around three percent. “The military actions have been renewed at an extraordinary high,” said

John Kilduff of Again Capital. “And the rhetoric is as hot as it’s been since the beginning of the

war.” US President Donald Trump threatened to knock out one Iranian bridge or power plant in return for each

attack on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran would respond in kind to any

attack on its infrastructure, saying on X, “our defense doctrine is clear: eye for an eye.” Meanwhile,

maritime data analyzed by AFP showed that at least nine ships had turned back from crossing the Bab al-Mandab strait at

the southern end of the Red Sea after Houthi rebels announced a blockade of Saudi ports. According to maritime data firm

Kpler, three of the ships had taken on oil at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Yanbu terminal, which is an important means

for Riyadh to bypass the Hormuz Strait. Still, US equity markets had a muted response to the latest surge in oil prices,

with the broad-based S&P 500 losing just 0.1 percent. CFRA Research senior vice president Arun Sundaram cited a

litany of worry items in a “growing list of headwinds” including renewed Trump tariff threats, spiking US

bond yields and fears over China’s artificial intelligence competitiveness. “The market has refused to

flinch, like a boxer absorbing punch after punch while refusing to go down,” Sundaram said. • Tech stock focus

– While stock market traders kept a close watch on the Mideast war developments, focus was also firmly on the

technology sector, as it has been for several weeks. “A rotation away from tech has resulted in a better day for

European markets overall, which continue to defy the strength in oil,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst

at online trading and investing platform IG. Tech stocks had rebounded on Wall Street on Tuesday, but had a more

difficult day on Wednesday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finishing down 0.6 percent. Companies that are

massively deploying AI, such as Amazon, Meta and Microsoft, were trading sharply lower. The recent “pullback in

chip stocks following a storming run earlier this year has left investors hungry for an update on AI-related demand and

to see if all the big investments into tech infrastructure are paying off,” said Russ Mould, investment director

at AJ Bell. Google parent “Alphabet reports tonight, with Intel following tomorrow and Microsoft, Meta … and

others next week”, he added. Asia’s main stock markets closed mixed on Wednesday, as investors eagerly

awaited earnings updates from technology giants. Related News US vows to punish Iran after tankers strike Equities shed

N800bn as profit-taking halts market rally Guinness Nigeria grows revenue to N265bn • Key figures around 20:10 GMT

– Brent North Sea Crude: UP 3.4 percent at $`94.07 per barrel West Texas Intermediate: UP 3.0 percent at `$86.83 a

barrel New York – Dow: FLAT at 52,218.58 (close) New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,498.96

(close) New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.6 percent at 25,690.90 (close) London – FTSE 100: UP 1.2 percent at

10,716.97 (close) Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.9 percent at 8,437.89 (close) Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.6 percent at

25,155.41 (close) Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 66,115.60 (close) Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index:

DOWN 1.0 percent at 24,892.66 (close) Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,867.03 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at

1.1398 on Tuesday Pound/dollar: DOWN at 1.3376 Euro/pound: UP at 85.33 pence from 85.21 pence Dollar/yen: DOWN at 163.15

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