Crude Oil Prices Surge Amidst West Asia Tensions
Kathmandu. Crude oil prices have increased in the international market. The price of crude oil has risen sharply on Monday as investors became nervous due to the escalating military tension between Israel and Iran in West Asia.
At the ICE Exchange's Comex division in London, the price of Brent crude increased by 4 dollars 42 cents per barrel to 97 dollars 15 cents per barrel. Similarly, at the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex division, the price of the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also increased by 4.07 percent to 94 dollars 61 cents per barrel.
Although US President Donald Trump warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to launch further attacks on Iran, Israel attacked a petrochemical factory in southwestern Iran. This is the first attack by Israel on Iran since the ceasefire was announced on April 8. According to Iran's semi-official news agency Fars News, the petrochemical complex in Mahshahr was partially damaged.
According to analysts, the biggest concern in the market is the Strait of Hormuz. This is the route through which 20 percent of the world's consumed oil and gas is transported. The increase in oil prices on Monday has compensated for the decline in Friday's trading. The oil market had fallen on Friday in anticipation of a deal between the US and Iran. The Strait of Hormuz will remain open, according to Kazem Jalali, Iran's ambassador to Russia. However, Iran and Oman may implement new rules and transit fees. Iran has blocked shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The United States has also imposed sanctions on Iranian ports. On Sunday, OPEC, the group of major petroleum exporting countries, and OPEC Plus, the group of major oil-producing countries outside the group, agreed on their fourth production increase in four months. It has been analyzed that the impact of this decision by OPEC Plus will be limited in the market as Hormuz is closed and production in Russia has decreased due to recent damage to its energy infrastructure.
This specific news has been automatically translated by AI. As a result, there may be some inaccuracies or language errors.
