Surfers wait for waves on El Porto Beach as crude oil tanker "Chios" has its cargo pumped into the Chevron Products Company refinery, one of California's largest petroleum processing facilities, in El Segundo, Calif., March 4. AP-Yonhap
CHICAGO — Oil prices have eclipsed $100 per barrel for the first time in more than three and a half years as the Iran war hinders production and shipping in the Middle East.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, was at $101.19 shortly after trading resumed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, up 9.2 percent from its settlement price of $92.69 Friday.
West Texas Intermediate, the light, sweet crude oil produced in the United States, was selling for about $107.06 a barrel. That’s 16.2 percent higher than its Friday settlement price of $90.90.
Both could rise or fall as market trading continues.
The increases followed U.S. crude prices jumping by 36 percent and Brent crude prices rising 28 percent last week. Oil prices have surged as the war, now in its second week, ensnared countries and places that are critical to the production and movement of oil and gas from the Persian Gulf.
Roughly 15 million barrels of crude oil — about 20 percent of the world’s oil — typically are shipped every day through the Strait of Hormuz , according to independent research firm Rystad Energy. The threat of Iranian missile and drone attacks has all but stopped tankers from traveling through the strait, which is bordered in the north by Iran, carry oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Iran.
Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE have cut their oil production as storage tanks fill due to the reduced ability to export crude. Iran, Israel and the United States also have attacked oil and gas facilities since the war started, exacerbating supply concerns.
The last time U.S. crude futures traded above $100 per barrel was June 30, 2022, when the price reached $105.76. For Brent, it was July 29, 2022, when the price hit $104 per barrel.
The global surge in oil prices since Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran on March 1 has rattled financial markets, sparking worries that higher energy costs will fuel inflation and lead to less spending by U.S. consumers, the main engine of the economy.
Source: Korea Times News
