After the fresh military strikes by the United States (US) against Iran, the crude oil prices surged sharply by 3 per cent on Thursday. US West Texas Intermediate
(WTI) crude futures for July delivery climbed to around $92.7 per barrel, while Brent crude futures rose to about $95.4 per barrel. Following the latest US strikes, Iran announced that it was closing the Strait of Hormuz to all maritime traffic, including commercial vessels and oil tankers. In a statement carried by Iranian media, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, the armed forces' top operational command, said the move came in response to what it described as the "criminal aggressions of the American enemy" and fresh US attacks in southern Hormozgan province. Rystad Energy, the Oslo-headquartered energy research and intelligence firm, estimates that if hostilities were to resume in earnest, oil prices could move towards $150 per barrel. With 11.8 million barrels per day (bpd) shut in across six Gulf producers, the conflict has become the most severe supply disruption in the modern oil era. “At this stage, it is too early to say whether the current escalation marks a full resumption of hostilities or a dangerous but still containable episode," Jorge Leon, senior vice president and head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy, said.
