BEIJING: Oil prices jumped more than $3 a barrel in early Asian trade on Monday, as dramatic military clashes between Israeli and Hamas forces over the weekend deepened political uncertainty across the Middle East.
Brent crude rose $3.34, or 3.95%, to $87.92 a barrel by 2320 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $86.23 a barrel, up $3.44, or 4.16%.
Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Saturday launched the largest military assault on Israel in decades, killing hundreds of Israelis and triggering a wave of retaliatory Israeli air strikes on Gaza that continued through Sunday.
