Oil spikes and Sensex slips after missiles take down an Iranian oil tanker off Saudi Arabia coast

• Tensions over the Middle East spike after an oil tanker from Iran gets hit by missiles off the coast of Saudi Arabia.
• The company that owned the tanker called it a 'terrorist attack'.
• Crude oil prices spiked from the negative zone to being up over 1.4% soon after the news.

An oil tanker, owned by National Iranian Oil Company, had suffered heavy damage and was leaking oil into the Red Sea some 60 miles from Jeddah, according to a report by Reuters. The AFP too reported that two missiles were suspected in the tanker blast off the coast of Saudi Arabia.

The Iranian company called it a 'terrorist' attack. Soon after the reports, oil prices spiked by as much as 1.4% from being down in the red for much of the day. Indian markets which track oil prices were spooked. Sensex turned down after a strong start, and gave up nearly all its early gains this Friday.

The rise in oil prices is bad news for India, which imports over 80% of all its crude oil requirements.

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