Oil prices jump after US launches missile strike in Syria

A US official said more than 50 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from US Navy destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean against several targets on a base in Homs.

Oil prices soared on Friday after the United States launched dozens of cruise missiles at an airbase in Syria.

In this image provided by the US Navy, sailors assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) man the rails as the ship arrives at Naval Station Rota, Spain, on March 3, 2017. The United States fired a barrage of cruise missiles into Syria Thursday night in retaliation for this week’s gruesome chemical weapons attack against civilians, the first direct American assault on the Syrian government and Donald Trump’s most dramatic military order since becoming president. (AP Photo)

A US official said more than 50 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from US Navy destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean against several targets on a base in Homs. The operation appeared to have already been completed, a second official said.

After tepid trading before the news, Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil, jumped to $55.60 per barrel by 0146 GMT, up 72 cents, or 1.3 percent from their last close.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 70 cents, or 1.4 percent to $52.40 a barrel.