Brent oil price increased by 1.3 per cent or $1.48 to $114.00 per barrel on Monday as the Iran war entered its fifth week, with President Donald Trump threatening to destroy the Islamic Republic’s oil wells.
Brent has soared about 55 per cent in March, a record for the contract, dating back to its inception in 1988. The previous monthly record was a 46 per cent gain in September 1990 during the first Gulf War.
Also, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up $3.45 or 3.5 per cent to $103.09 a barrel, as Mr Trump vowed to target power plants and Kharg Island unless the Strait of Hormuz was reopened. Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for roughly a fifth of global oil and gas supplies, continues to be a point of focus.
In an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday, the US president said his preferred option in Iran would be to “take the oil,” likening it to the country’s actions in Venezuela, where the US effectively gained control over the country’s oil sector after the capture of its leader, Nicolás Maduro.
His remarks come as the conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran entered another week, with attacks spreading across the region, heightening risks to energy infrastructure and driving a sharp rally in crude prices.
Previously, the American president said he would pause attacks on Iran’s energy network until April 6 and that the US and Iran have been meeting “directly and indirectly”, but Iran described US proposals to end a month of war in the Middle East as “unrealistic, illogical and excessive” and unleashed more missiles on Israel.
Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that the global oil market is well supplied, with more boats travelling through the Strait of Hormuz. Two Chinese container ships sailed through the strait on their second attempt to leave the Gulf after turning back on Friday.
Market analysts noted that the potential for further disruption through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key shipping channel linking the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea, could push prices even higher.
Yemen’s Houthis said Saturday they had launched missiles at Israel, marking their first direct involvement in the US- Israel war against Iran.
Prices eased a bit after the Group of Seven (G7) finance leaders signalled readiness to act to stabilise energy markets. Alongside their central banks, they indicated readiness to take “all necessary measures” to safeguard energy market stability and limit broader economic spillovers from recent volatility.