Twenty-four hours after the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced the release of 400 million barrels from the group of seven countries’ strategic petroleum reserves, oil prices once again rose to the mid-$90s.
The IEA said in a report Thursday that the war in Iran is now causing “the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market,” noting that 7.5% of global supplies are now disrupted.
Brent crude futures (BZ=F), the global benchmark, rose more than 6% to trade around $6.10 in morning trade after briefly crossing $100 a barrel overnight. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude (CL=F) jumped nearly 10% to change hands above $95.60.
Read more: You can trade oil futures. What you need to know before you start.
Several tankers and other vessels were attacked in and around the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday and Thursday, bringing the number of vessels attacked to at least 16 since the conflict began. Iran has increasingly targeted ports and other critical infrastructure across the region, even as explosions at its own oil depots have blanketed Tehran’s air with black clouds.
Flows through the strait, which normally carries about 20 million barrels of petroleum products (bpd) per day through its waters, have remained essentially zero, except for a handful of Iran-bound vessels.
Across the Gulf, well shutdowns and force majeure declarations at key refineries and other infrastructure only continue to mount. Gulf countries have now cut output by 10 million bpd, while the conflict has shut down more than 3 million bpd of refinery capacity, according to the IEA.
According to Bloomberg, in his first public comments since the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, Iran’s newly elected supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed, Iran would continue to attack the entire Gulf region and, according to Bloomberg, the regime would open “other fronts” if the war continued. Khamenei has not spoken publicly. Instead, an anchor on state television read a written statement.
On Wednesday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it would not allow “one liter of oil” to pass through the strait.
“You will not be able to artificially lower oil prices. Expect $200 per barrel,” the spokesman said in a public statement. “Oil prices depend on regional security, and you are the main source of insecurity in the region.”
Read more: How fuel prices are hitting your wallet, from gas to groceries
