Kuala lumpur: Oil prices rose again, with Brent crude hitting US$106 a barrel early Monday before retreating slightly to over US$104 as an escalation in West Asia tensions persists, Anadolu Ajansi reported. The price increase in the global crude benchmark came after oil futures resumed trading around 2200 GMT on Sunday.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the surge in oil prices follows recent developments in US-Iran relations. US President Donald Trump announced last Friday that US strikes had targeted Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export terminal in the Persian Gulf. However, he noted that the strikes avoided damaging the oil infrastructure itself. Trump warned that he might reconsider this restraint if there is any interference with the free and safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

Since the joint attacks by Israel and the US on Iran on February 28, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,300 people, including the then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, tensions in the region have intensified. In retaliation, Iran has launched drone and missile strikes against Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries that host US military assets.