Oil price surge Iran pushes Brent to $98.73, a six-week high

Crude oil is creeping back toward the psychological $100-a-barrel mark, and the reason is hard to miss: Iran. The latest oil price surge tied to Iran’s threats against Gulf energy infrastructure accelerated this week after Tehran and Washington traded military blows over the weekend, rattling a market that has been on edge for months over the ongoing conflict.

Key takeaways

• Brent crude jumped 1.5% to $97.73 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate rose 1.8% to $93.10, marking a six-week high.
• Crude prices have climbed more than 30% since late February, when the conflict began.
• Iran threatened to impose a maritime exclusion zone in the Persian Gulf and warned that U.S. energy companies operating there face real risk.
• Saudi Aramco’s Jazan facility, home to a 400,000-barrel-per-day refinery, was struck again, though damage was described as limited.
• Iran is negotiating with Oman on a secure shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that carries roughly 8 million barrels of oil a day.

Oil Prices Surge Near $100 Amid Iran’s Gulf Infrastructure Threats

Brent futures and West Texas Intermediate both jumped this week, pushing oil to levels not seen in six weeks, as traders priced in the risk that Iran’s rhetoric turns into real disruption of Gulf supply.

… Continue reading the full article at the original source below.