Israel-Iran Tension Causing Oil Price Surge, CNBC Analyst Says
In early trading on June 6, the price of a barrel of oil rose $6 and was holding steady at near-record highs in excess of $133. According to CNBC contributor John Kilduff, a high-ranking Israeli official caused the spike when he commented on tensions between
“[W]hat’s really lit up this market big time here is, which hasn’t been really mentioned. I haven’t heard too much and I’m surprised at, is deputy minister in Israel said this morning that an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities is quote, ‘unavoidable,’” said Kilduff on CNBC's “Squawk on the Street” June 6.
“This is one of Ehud Olmert’s deputies – leading deputies, and
Kilduff was referring to comments by Israeli Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz published in the Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth.
“If
Kilduff is the vice president of risk management for MF Global (NYSE:MF). In May, Kilduff predicted the price of oil would top out at $138 before retreating.
“If equities can really come back into favor, a lot of this speculative money will come out of the market,” Kilduff said on the May 7 “The Call.” “And I think one of the key things as well is what happens to
Other factors were blamed for this most recent spike including investment bank Morgan Stanley’s (NYSE:MS) forecast that oil would reach $150 a barrel in a month due to Asian demand and a dollar weakened by the Labor Department’s announcement on June 6 that unemployment jumped a half percentage point in May.
