Oil prices open higher, past $100/barrel as war in Middle East rages
WASHINGTON, United States – Oil prices kept rising as markets opened Sunday, with both benchmarks higher as the war in the Middle East disrupts global supplies.
Around 2245 GMT, shortly after the Chicago Mercantile Exchange opened, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate rose 2.54 percent to $100.22 a barrel, while the price of Brent, the international benchmark for oil, was up 2.88 percent to $106.11 a barrel.
READ: jumbo-oil-price-hike-seen-at-up-to-p22-30-liter-on-march-17
The rise was lower than price surges seen during market sessions in the past two weeks.
With Gulf states slashing production and oil tankers stuck in the Gulf, benchmark oil prices have risen 40 to 50 percent since the United States and Israel first attacked Iran on February 28, threatening to curb growth and stoke inflation.
The Strait of Hormuz, which usually sees passage of 20 percent of global oil and gas exports, remains effectively shut.
‘Short-term pain’
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday the closure is “short-term pain” causing higher prices, adding that the war could end “in the next few weeks.”
The International Energy Agency has warned that the Middle East war “is creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.”
US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets — including the oil export hub of Kharg Island — have also disrupted supplies.
