There are several key flashpoints where the Israel-Hamas war could escalate into a regional conflict that has a material impact on oil, according to the firm.
Those flashpoints are the Red Sea, Lebanon and Iraq, analyst Helima Croft wrote in a note to clients this week.
Crude prices fell Tuesday despite renewed attacks by Houthi militants in the Red Sea over the weekend.
Maersk stopped shipping through the Red Sea again and is rerouting vessels around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.
Some 12% of global trade and about 3 million barrels of crude oil pass through the Red Sea per day, according to RBC Capital Markets.
Persons:
Helima Croft, Croft, Adi Imsirovic, Imsirovic, Steven Schoenfeld, Schoenfeld, Goldman Sachs, Tehran's Houthi, Donald Trump ratcheted, Biden, Benny Gantz, Israel, Saleh al, Joe Biden, Trump, Qasem Soleimani
Organizations:
RBC Capital Markets, Maersk, West Texas Intermediate, CNBC, Tuesday, Traders, Investors, Center for Strategic, International Studies, U.S, Prosperity, U.S . Navy, U.S . Central Command, JPMorgan, Israel Defense Forces, Three U.S, Washington
Locations:
Israel, Sea, Lebanon, Iraq, Red, Danish, Libya, Russia, Ukraine, Iran, U.S, Yemen, The U.S, Mandeb, Aden, Britain, Hangzhou, South Africa, Suez, Asia, Europe, Hormuz, Islamic Republic, Tehran, Beirut, Croft, Erbil, Three