The US has attacked Iran several times since last Tuesday. Iran demanded a counter attack in response to this attack. After that, the price of oil rose by more than 3 percent in the international market on Thursday.
According to the news agency Reuters report, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard forces have claimed an attack on a US air base. However, the IRGC did not elaborate on which US bases it targeted. But after such news was published in the media, there was a new tension in the oil market.
The price of Brent crude for July contract rose 3.51 dollars or 3.72 percent to 97.8 dollars per barrel. The August contract rose to $95.60.
On the other hand, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose by 3.31 dollars or 3.73 percent to 91.99 dollars per barrel.
Earlier in the day, both oil prices fell more than 5 percent to their lowest in a month on news of a possible deal between the United States and Iran and the possibility of reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
However, when Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced on Thursday that they had attacked a US airbase in response to US strikes near Bandar Abbas airport, oil prices began to rise.
A US official said that the US military has launched a new attack on Iran. The attacks targeted a military installation that was considered a threat to US forces and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
ANZ Bank commodities strategist Daniel Hynes told Reuters in a note that oil supplies remain tight and key disputes over the deal remain unresolved.
Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported that crude oil stocks in the United States fell by 2.8 million barrels last week. The data came out for the sixth consecutive week of decline in stocks.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) government stockpile report is scheduled for release on Thursday. The release of the report was delayed by a day due to the Memorial Day holiday on Monday.
Incidentally, the Iran war started with the US-Israeli joint attack on February 28. After that, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, the main route of world oil transportation. Since then, there has been an oil crisis in the world market. Meanwhile, oil prices are fluctuating on the news of the US-Iran ceasefire and agreement.
