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NEW YORK, July 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Crude oil futures prices surged around 5 percent late Tuesday after the U.S. Central Command claimed that U.S. forces intercepted an attack from Iran in the Middle East.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September delivery gained 5.1 percent to 83.30 U.S. dollars per barrel at one point. Gains in WTI crude oil futures prices later narrowed to around 3 percent.

"At 5:45 p.m. ET today, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on U.S. forces based in the Middle East," the U.S. Central Command wrote on X.

"All Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted," it said, adding "U.S. forces remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness."

Both WTI and Brent crude oil futures for September delivery extended losses and dropped over 4 percent upon settlement on Tuesday.

The pause in attacks between the United States and Iran weighed on oil prices in the last few days, with investors eying the restart of bilateral negotiations and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Optimism in the market led to a deep drop in crude oil futures prices in the previous three sessions.

The risk premium in oil prices could be quickly reignited and push prices back above 100 dollars per barrel, according to Nikos Tzabouras, a market analyst with trading platform Tradu.