Oil prices have surged after Iran fired ballistic missiles against Israel sparking fears of a wider conflict in the West Asia that could disrupt oil supplies. Brent crude, a key benchmark for oil prices internationally, rose more than 1 per cent. During trading session yesterday, it jumped more than 5 percent.

Traders also fear that any military escalation in the region could affect shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The shipping route – which lies between Oman and Iran – is key to the global oil trade with 20 percent of world’s supplies sailing through it.

Iran is the seventh largest oil producer in the world and the third-largest member of the OPEC oil producers’ cartel.