Investing.com -- Despite intensifying disruptions across global energy markets, BCA Research says the muted reaction in West Texas Intermediate crude is giving a misleading signal.

The firm’s chief commodity and energy strategist, Roukaya Ibrahim, wrote in a note Monday that “WTI’s relative calm is misleading” and that the U.S. measures being discussed to cushion the shock “are little more than band-aid solutions.”

The conflict has escalated in recent days, with Iran striking “multiple energy facilities across the region” in retaliation for an attack on its South Pars gas field, BCA Research notes.

While there are signs of progress in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the firm warns that the targeting of infrastructure “highlight[s] the possibility of a dangerous escalation for energy markets.”

QatarEnergy’s damaged LNG plant alone affects 17% of its export capacity and “will take up to five years to repair,” the note adds.

Brent and European natural gas prices have spiked on the news, but WTI has remained below $100 a barrel.

According to BCA Research, the U.S.-focused benchmark is less exposed to overseas shortages, but its stability “indicates that other forces are also at play.”

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve release “is likely suppressing the front end of the WTI curve,” while speculation about a potential U.S. intervention in oil futures or an export ban is also weighing on prices.

However, the firm warns that “neither would sufficiently address the supply problem,” given the scale of disruption.

With transit through Hormuz still constrained, BCA Research concludes that “upside price pressures will continue to prevail,” though any abrupt easing in the conflict could trigger a rapid reversal.