West Texas Intermediate followed the upward trend, trading at $93.05 as supply anxieties intensified. The market remains on edge after a fresh strike hit Saudi Arabia’s Jizan refinery, a facility capable of processing 400,000 barrels of crude daily. Further complicating the supply outlook, Tehran announced the creation of a new shipping corridor in the Strait of Hormuz, signaling that tanker traffic through the critical waterway faces significant new disruptions.
Brent Crude Nears $100 as Middle East Tensions Escalate
With hopes for a regional ceasefire vanishing, Brent crude has surged to $97.66 per barrel. The rally follows renewed threats of economic warfare from Iran, which confirmed the firing of advanced missiles toward U.S. warships, effectively pushing global markets toward the psychological threshold of $100 per barrel.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned that Washington’s economic policies would trigger a maritime exclusion zone across the Persian Gulf. This aggressive posture has forced analysts to recalibrate their outlooks, with many extending their crisis models into 2027. Daniel Hynes of ANZ noted that a return to pre-war throughput is unlikely before early 2027, while ING analysts observed that market speculators are aggressively increasing their net long positions in Brent as the prospect of a diplomatic resolution evaporates.
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