Oil Prices Soar to $100 as US-Iran Tensions Escalate Further
Oil prices surged to $100 per barrel early on Wednesday in Asian trade as tensions between the US and Iran continue to escalate. The international benchmark, Brent Crude, jumped by 2.25% to top $100 per barrel, its highest level since July 24 when re-escalations in the Middle East drove up oil prices.
The price rally this week has been triggered by renewed hostilities between the US and Iran, with the US military destroying five Iranian crude oil carriers in response to what it claims was an attack on a US Navy warship. The US Central Command (Centcom) announced that American forces had destroyed four of the carriers in the Gulf of Oman, while one was struck near Kharg Island.
Iran retaliated by firing ballistic missiles towards Jordan and warning that vessels in the Persian Gulf could be targeted. ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote that recent developments reinforce the view that talks between the US and Iran are unlikely to restart soon, leading to a sizeable risk premium being priced into the market.