{"id":535903,"date":"2026-03-12T16:45:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T16:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/535903\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T16:45:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T16:45:14","slug":"oil-price-breaks-the-us100-per-barrel-mark-as-oil-tankers-are-hit-in-the-strait-of-hormuz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/535903\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil price breaks the $US100 per barrel mark as oil tankers are hit in the Strait of Hormuz"},"content":{"rendered":"

The oil markets are once again in a state of anxiety about future global supplies.<\/p>\n

At the open of Asian trade the global benchmark, Brent crude, shot up 7 per cent to $US98.50 a barrel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By mid-afternoon trade it had pushed above the psychologically important mark of $US100 a barrel.<\/p>\n

Oil crisis could add percentage point to inflation<\/a><\/p>\n

Treasury has advised the government that if the oil price averages $US100 per barrel for three months, there would be a temporary 0.5 percentage point spike to headline inflation.<\/p>\n

The International Energy Agency (IEA) announced earlier today that its 32 member countries would release 400 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves<\/a>, marking the biggest coordinated drawdown since the agency was created in the aftermath of the 1973 oil embargo.<\/p>\n

The release represents about a third of the 1.2 billion barrels the IEA has in emergency stocks, with an additional 600 million held under government obligation.<\/p>\n

However, the IEA announcement has failed to calm investors.<\/p>\n

Iran war live updates:<\/a> For the latest news on the Middle East crisis read our blog.<\/p>\n

Analysts say the decision to release emergency supplies points to fears the Middle East war will drag on.<\/p>\n

“The IEA decision also signals how acute the oil shortage risk is, suggests the IEA does not believe the war is unlikely to end soon,” MST Financial analyst Saul Kavonic said.<\/p>\n

The IEA move was aimed at preventing a further increase in oil prices amid fears that Iranian attacks will continue to block Middle East oil exports from reaching markets.<\/p>\n

\"Smoke<\/p>\n

Thai cargo ship Mayuree Naree was struck and set ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz. (Supplied: AP)<\/p>\n

Attacks on ships spooking markets<\/p>\n

Earlier today United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that two tankers had been struck and reports are emerging of more vessels coming under fire.<\/p>\n

The Strait of Hormuz facilitates the movement of roughly 20 per cent of the world’s supply of crude oil.<\/p>\n

“Multiple tankers loaded with Iraqi crude are now reported burning in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Basra, engulfed in flames and leaking burning oil into the water,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore wrote.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week US President Donald Trump tried to soothe jittery investors by claiming the war was “very complete”, but continued attacks on the vital strait have undone those efforts.<\/p>\n

Oil price could hit $US150 per barrel<\/p>\n

The Commonwealth Bank said markets were “underestimating the disruption to global energy markets” and predicted that prices could increase to $US120\u2013$US150 a barrel.<\/p>\n

“The share of global oil supply disrupted is almost double the previous largest event,” the bank’s commodity analyst Vivek Dhar noted in a research report.<\/p>\n

“If the conflict is not resolved, oil and refined product prices are at risk of rising to levels not seen in history.”<\/p>\n

Oil markets are now eyeing any signs of conflict in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

“Prices right now are still in panic mode,” Raymond James senior investment strategist Pavel Molchanov told CNBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“There is a lot of emotion, fear, uncertainty built into the price that we see.”<\/p>\n

Brent crude peaked at levels close to $US150 a barrel in the months before the global financial crisis of September 2008.<\/p>\n

Loading<\/p>\n

ANZ senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes expected energy prices would continue to rise.<\/p>\n

“The conflict has now moved beyond a short-lived geopolitical shock and into a phase where supply losses are increasingly structural rather than transient,” he noted.<\/p>\n

“Once a conflict extends beyond the initial shock phase, oil markets tend to shift from pricing uncertainty to pricing endurance.”<\/p>\n

The NRMA has consistently asked motorists to avoid panicking about the supply and price of fuel.<\/p>\n

Today its spokesperson Peter Khoury reiterated that and said supply anxiety had extended to terminals too.<\/p>\n

“We’ve since seen stockpiling and panic buying both at the bowser but also some of it at the terminal as well,” he said.<\/p>\n

“So the message to Australians, again, is please stop panic buying.”<\/p>\n

Mr Khoury rebuked those hoarding fuel.<\/p>\n

“Just go back to your buying habits, because for every extra litre of diesel that you buy in Sydney or Melbourne or Brisbane that you don’t need, that you’re storing in your garage, that’s one litre of diesel that’s not going out to regional areas,” he said.<\/p>\n

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