New Delhi, March 19 -- Crude oil prices surged over 4% on Thursday morning after fresh attacks on key energy infrastructure in West Asia heightened fears of a broader supply shock.

The conflict's shift toward targeting energy infrastructure has amplified fears of a prolonged supply shock, pushing oil prices higher and exposing import-dependent economies like India to fresh risks.

At 6:20 AM, the April contract of Brent crude on the Intercontinental Exchange was trading at $111.78 per barrel, up 4.10% from its previous close. The April contract of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on NYMEX rose 3.37% to $99.57 per barrel.

The spike follows Israel's strike on Iran's South Pars gas field-the world's largest-followed by retaliatory attacks by ...