Oil prices jumped to their highest levels in the months of today, Wednesday, before losing some of their gains, as stocks tumbled in a number of exchanges this morning, Wednesday, after Iran attacked American forces in Iraq in response to the killing of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Balkans of Jerusalem last week.

Brent crude futures rose $ 1.83, or 2.7%, to $ 70.10 a barrel by 01:48 UTC, after earlier rising to $ 71.75, its highest level since mid-September 2019.

West Texas Intermediate contracts rose about two dollars, nearly 3%, to record $ 64.30 a barrel. And crude touched earlier $ 65.85, at its strongest price since late April of last year.

Later in the day, Wednesday, oil prices gave up some of their gains in light of assurances from an OPEC side and oil ministers in the region.

Iran said it launched a missile attack on the US-led forces in Iraq in the early hours of the day in response to a US strike with a drone plane targeting Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, whose assassination raised fears of a wider war in the Middle East.

"The obvious concern of the markets is, where is all this ending?" ING Research analysts said in a note.

They added, "I am afraid of his fear that we will see more Iran, which will call for an American response - a perception that cannot be excluded in light of President (Donald) Trump's warnings."

Reassurances
Meanwhile, OPEC Secretary-General Mohamed Barkindo stressed today, Wednesday, that the Iraqi oil installations are safe

The country's production is continuing, and he expected that there would be no disturbances in oil supplies from Iraq.

"It is a matter of great satisfaction that the facilities remain safe in Iraq, and production is ongoing and effective," Barkindo said on the sidelines of a conference in Abu Dhabi.

He expressed optimism that Iraq will reach a rate of 100% compliance with OPEC cuts in a timely manner despite the current tensions.

Barkindo: Iraqi oil facilities are safe and the country's production continues (Reuters)

The Secretary-General of OPEC stressed that he is confident that the leaders of the Middle East are doing everything they can to restore conditions to normal.

In a letter to US President Donald Trump, Barkindo said that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cannot alone bear the responsibility of keeping the oil market balanced.

For his part, UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazroui said on Wednesday that OPEC would respond to any shortfall in oil supplies if necessary, but "we also have our limits" to compensate for any possible oil shortage.

He added that he did not expect immediate risks to shipments of oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping lane of the Strip, after the Iranian attack.

Stock exchanges
On the financial markets front, Dubai shares fell 1.2% in early trading today, Wednesday, and the rest of the Gulf markets retreated in response to escalating tensions in the Middle East. The Abu Dhabi index fell 0.2%, while Kuwaiti shares fell 1.1%.

"Our basic assumption is that the attacks will continue to be exchanged between the United States and Iran, but at a carefully defined level to avoid forcing the other side to launch comprehensive military action," Fitch Ratings said.

The Nikkei index lost more than 2.4% half an hour after the start of trading in Tokyo.

"The yen has risen to the level of 107.78 yen per dollar," said Kyoko Amimiya, chief market adviser at SBI Securities, a price that generally hurts Japanese stocks.

He added that Japanese stocks were also affected by investor fears on the Japanese economy, which depends on oil imports.