2026-07-20T05:23:32+00:00
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Shafaq News
Brent oil
prices rose 2% to more than $90 per barrel on Monday, as escalating U.S.-Iran
hostilities in the Middle East restricted oil shipments through the Strait of
Hormuz.
Brent crude
futures climbed $2.09, or 2.37%, to $90.19 by 0241 GMT, touching the highest
since June 11, extending gains after rising 15.9% last week, its biggest weekly
gain since April.
U.S. West Texas
Intermediate crude was at $84.20 a barrel, up $1.71, or 2.07%, the loftiest
since June 12. Front-month prices gained 15.5% last week, the largest weekly
ascent since early March.
The Middle East conflict escalated over the weekend with the U.S. conducting a
ninth straight night of attacks against Iran, while U.S. allies Kuwait and
Bahrain reported more Iranian strikes.
“ICE Brent
broke above $90 per barrel this morning with no let-up in the escalation in
the Gulf,” said ING analysts in a note on Monday.
“The U.S.
and Iran continue to exchange strikes, which are proving to be deadly for both
sides. If this escalation goes unchecked, we could return to an environment of
wide-scale attacks across the Gulf.”
The Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Monday that two oil tankers had exploded and
been immobilised after attempting to transit what it described as an unsafe
southern route through the Strait of Hormuz, alleging they had been encouraged by the U.S. military to use the passage.
Reuters could
not immediately verify the incident.
In recent days
both sides have taken aim at shipping traffic, with the U.S. saying it is
enforcing a naval blockade on Iranian ports, and Iran saying it targets vessels
violating its rules on navigating the Strait of Hormuz, which usually handles
one-fifth of global oil trade.
A vessel was on
fire northwest of Oman’s Kumzar, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations
agency said early on Monday.
“The
coming days and weeks will provide a clearer picture of the sustainable level
of oil exports from the region under renewed dual blockades,” Barclays
analyst Amarpreet Singh said in a note.
“As things
stand, we think oil markets are still too complacent about the potential
fallout for inventories, which, unlike at the beginning of the war, are at the
tightest of the past five years.”
Four vessels
made the transit through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, down from eight in the
previous day, LSEG data showed. At least three oil products tankers
and one Very Large Crude Carrier, have entered the strait since Friday to load oil, the data showed.
(Reuters)
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