Oil rises and records the longest winning streak since early April amid monitoring of the situation in the Middle East.

Oil prices rose during trading on Monday, extending their gains for the fifth consecutive session, hitting their highest levels in 5.5 weeks after crude contracts recorded their largest weekly jump since the beginning of 2023 last week. The two main crude contracts are on track to post the longest daily profit streak since early April, amid monitoring of the geopolitical scene in the Middle East and concerns over global supply shortages.

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In terms of trading, Brent crude futures rose by 2.56%, reaching $79.78 per barrel, the highest level since August 30. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures increased by 2.70%, reaching $76.19 per barrel.

This comes after Brent crude prices surged by more than 8% last week, while West Texas Intermediate posted weekly gains of about 9.1%.

What is driving oil to achieve such profits?

The strong oil profits come amid increasing likelihood of the war expanding in the Middle East and the possibility of the Israeli occupation government targeting oil infrastructure facilities in Iran in response to the Iranian missile attack that Tehran launched on October 1 against occupied Palestinian territories.

Tehran's attack at that time was in response to the intense airstrikes carried out by the Israeli army on Gaza and areas in southern Lebanon, following the detonation operations executed by Mossad in Lebanon, which resulted in thousands being injured and hundreds killed, followed by the assassination of the Lebanese resistance leader, Hassan Nasrallah, by the Israeli government.

Experts indicate that if the conflict between Iran and the Israeli occupation government expands and oil facilities in Iran – a member of the OPEC alliance – are indeed targeted, this could lead to a potential disruption of oil exports from the primary crude-producing region.

It is worth noting that Iran is a key player in the global oil market, producing nearly 4 million barrels of oil per day, which is estimated to represent about 4% of global oil supplies, now facing an increasing risk, further fueling the rise in oil prices.