London (AFP) - Oil prices soared more than five percent Thursday following reports that the United States could launch fresh attacks on Iran before next month’s midterm elections, risking further supply disruptions.

Brent North Sea crude, the international benchmark, rallied to as high as $105.88 a barrel. The main US contract, West Texas Intermediate, reached as high as $93.20 per barrel.

The Atlantic magazine reported that the White House had asked the Pentagon to draw up options for hitting sites in Iran ahead of the congressional midterms on November 3.

With Donald Trump’s Republicans in danger of losing both houses of Congress, an escalation in the US-Iran conflict could put even more pressure on the president, with Americans already battling record-high diesel prices.

But the suggestion is that renewed US attacks could strengthen Trump’s position in seeking to bring Tehran to the negotiating table to end the war.

“The planning (for possible fresh strikes) should be seen in the context of efforts to pressure Iran, bring energy prices down, and demonstrate progress in the conflict ahead of the election,” said Arne Lohmann Rasmussen, chief analyst at the energy consulting firm Global Risk Management.

Meanwhile Yemen’s Houthis targeted Riyadh airport with missiles on Thursday and warned staff at oil facilities in Saudi Arabia to leave to avoid being targeted as hostilities escalate.

“The renewed rise in oil prices is intensifying inflation concerns and adding to upward pressure on bond yields,” said Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.

Yields on government bonds have recently touched highs unseen in more than twenty years as investors fear sustained inflation will force central banks to raise interest rates, thus slowing economic growth and hitting equity market valuations.

“With Treasury yields surging, mortgage rates climbing and expectations shifting towards further interest rate hikes, the prospect of a deeper equity market correction is becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss,” Razaqzada added.

The surge in oil prices weighed on stock markets.

Wall Street’s main indices were lower in late morning trading.

Europe’s main markets finished the day in the red, including London, although higher oil prices benefited energy majors. Shares in BP rose 4.1 percent and Shell 3.6 percent.

Asia’s leading stock markets tracked losses Wednesday on Wall Street, where technology firms pulled back from recent gains.

Shares in Samsung slid as the South Korean titan forecast a huge increase in quarterly profit that nonetheless failed to meet market expectations.

On Wall Street, shares in SpaceX slid 2.6 percent following a Financial Times report that Elon Musk’s firm is aiming to raise $40 billion in bank loans and debt to further its purchases of AI chips from Nvidia.

The massive fundraising, coming just four months after SpaceX raised $86 billion in the world’s biggest IPO, underscored the voracious demand among tech firms for chips to roll out their ambitions surrounding artificial intelligence.

- Key figures at around 1530 GMT -

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 5.3 percent at $105.54 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 5.2 percent at $92.90 per barrel

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 50,975.72 points

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,774.02

New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 27,391.36

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 10,441.60 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.5 percent at 7,732.24 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.2 percent at 24,806.97 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.4 percent at 69,042.11 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 23,785.79 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,811.90 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1199 from $1.1194 on Wednesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3213 from $1.3210

Dollar/yen: UP at 158.28 yen from 158.07 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.76 pence from 84.74 pence

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