U.S. oil tops $100 as Iran war shows no sign of ending soon
U.S. crude oil hit $100 per barrel Sunday, continuing its surge as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran shows no signs of ending soon and despite attempts by the Trump administration and allied countries to slow rising prices.
As oil futures trading resumed trading at 6 p.m. ET, U.S. crude oil jumped more than 2%, to around $102 per barrel. The international oil benchmark, Brent crude, also jumped, to $106 per barrel.
On Wednesday, the 32 countries that make up the International Energy Agency unanimously agreed to release a collective 400 million barrels of oil in the largest emergency release ever.
Lawmakers, investors and consumers alike had all hoped the move would cut prices and reassure the markets. Oil prices momentarily fell below $80 a barrel after the announcement, before they resumed their steady march higher.
Since the war started, U.S. oil prices have risen nearly 50%. So far this year, the cost of U.S. crude has risen nearly 75%.
Retail gas prices have soared, too. On Sunday, the national average price per gallon of unleaded gas was around $3.70, up about 70 cents since the U.S. and Israel launched wide-scale strikes on targets in Iran.
Retaliatory Iranian attacks across the region on ships, infrastructure and ports through which oil tankers transit have only deepened fears that the war will become a protracted regional conflict.
In the meantime, the critical Strait of Hormuz — through which more than 20% of the world’s oil supply must pass to reach global markets — will remain closed for the foreseeable future.
On Friday, the U.S. intensified its military pressure on Iran, striking Kharg Island, a crucial outpost in the Persian Gulf from which Iran exports around 90% of its oil.
Trump said the strikes did not affect the island’s oil infrastructure. He told NBC News in a phone interview Saturday, “We may hit [Kharg Island] a few more times, just for fun.”
He also said he was not yet ready to negotiate a cease-fire with Iran.
Trump said in the interview that he was asking “numerous countries that are affected by the thuggery of Iran” to help secure the strait.
The White House has been dangling the prospect of naval escorts to protect oil tankers for more than a week, without providing any details yet.
“We have never had the most important waterway for energy effectively closed,” RBC Capital Markets’ chief commodities strategist Helima Croft told NBC News last week.
“The only way this crisis abates is if there is some way that we can reopen the Strait of Hormuz and give confidence to shipping companies that their tankers will not be attacked,” Croft said.
On NBC’s “Meet the Press” earlier Sunday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said it could still be a number of weeks before military escorts are possible.
Wright was asked whether the Strait of Hormuz is safe for ships right now. “No, no, it is not,” he said. Making it safe for ships to pass is “one of the objectives at the end of this conflict,” he said.
Until the war with Iran ends, Wright said, “we’re going to see some elevated pricing.”
Some analysts say the $100 mark, which West Texas Intermediate crude oil crossed Sunday evening, could be oil’s first stop on the road to even higher prices.
“The psychological level of $100 oil may just be a short-term price target on its way to higher levels as the conflict drags on, oil production is throttled back as oil storage fills up because tankers are unable to load,” longtime industry expert Andy Lipow said last week.
