Oil prices spike, U.S. stock futures fall as Israel strikes targets in Iran
Oil futures shot higher and U.S. stock-market futures...
Oil futures shot higher and U.S. stock-market futures sank Thursday evening on reports that Israel was attacking sites in Iran.
Explosions were reportedly heard in Tehran, and Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz described the airstrikes as a “special situation,” according to the Associated Press. There were few other immediate details.
U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for July deliveryCL.1 +6.19% and the global benchmark Brent crude for August delivery BRNQ25 +5.68%soared more than 3%.
The news sent U.S. stock-market futures falling, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures down more than 300 points, or 0.8%, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures fell about 1%.
Israel Launches Attack on Iran as Tehran Scrambles Jets
Explosions rocked...
Explosions rocked Tehran early Friday morning, and Israel’s defense minister said his country’s warplanes had carried out an attack on Iran, raising fears of a war between two of the most powerful militaries in the Middle East.
Neither the scale of the attack nor the damage it caused was immediately clear. The strike was expected to prompt swift retaliation from Iran, likely involving a large barrage of ballistic missiles comparable to that Iran fired during similar escalations last year.
Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq post gains as U.S. stocks edge closer to record highs
U.S. stocks shrugged off earlier weakness on Thursday...
U.S. stocks shrugged off earlier weakness on Thursday to post modest gains, helping to bring the three major equity indexes closer to reclaiming record territory.
Investors monitored inflation data, Iran tensions, and trade developments. President Trump said countries should expect letters about tariffs as his early July deadline on a 90-day pause on trade levies nears.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 101.85 points, or 0.2%, to 42,967.62. Boeing Co. shares fell 4.7% after an Air India 787 Dreamliner jet crashed, keeping a lid on the Dow's gains.
The S&P 500 index added 23.02 points, or 0.4%, closing at 6,045.26.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced 46.61 points, or 0.2%, finishing at 19,662.48.
The S&P 500 has been taking baby steps toward reclaiming record levels since crossing back over the 6,000 mark last week. It needs to end above its 6,144.15 record set on Feb. 19.
US Crude Oil Inventories Fall More than Expected: EIA
According to data from the EIA Petroleum Status Report,...
According to data from the EIA Petroleum Status Report, crude oil inventories in the US fell by 3.644 million barrels in the week ending June 6, 2025, more than market expectations of a 2.5 million barrel decrease.
Also, stocks in the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub decreased by 403 thousand barrels.
Among refined fuels, gasoline stocks rose by 1.504 million barrels and stocks of distillate fuels increased by 1.246 million barrels, both above expectations.
U.S. Energy Secretary Pushes Back on the EIA's Oil Decline Narrative
Energy Secretary Chris Wright does not expect U.S. crude oil production...
Energy Secretary Chris Wright does not expect U.S. crude oil production to decline in 2026, although the Energy Information Administration forecast such a development.
“That is a projection — we don’t know what’s going to happen next year,” Wright told Bloomberg in an interview. “We have seen weak prices for a few months, and if prices are too low for an economic incentive, you’ll see some drilling reduction on the margin. I think it’s unlikely you’ll see enough reduction actually to see a decline in production next year.”
The Energy Information Administration said earlier this week it expected oil production in the U.S. to decline from 13.5 million barrels daily in the second quarter of this year to 13.3 million barrels daily in 2026 as shale oil peaks. The authority cited weak oil prices as one reason for the expected decline. At the same time, some industry executives have pointed to the exhaustion of low-cost shale deposits as a driver of the potential future decline.
The most vulnerable players in the shale patch are smaller independents. Supermajors such as Exxon, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips are in a business-as-usual mode, yet some of them have already said that the peak in U.S. oil production is being accelerated and could come sooner than previously expected.