Brent crude, the benchmark for Angolan oil exports, slipped 0.3% to $84 a barrel around 09:00 Luanda time on Thursday, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the North American benchmark, edged down 0.14% to $79.50 a barrel — a modest pullback after both contracts surged more than 12% across the previous three sessions.
Despite the marginal correction, markets remain under intense pressure. The recent military escalation between the United States and Iran has reignited fears over the security of the region’s energy shipping lanes, after Washington launched a fresh wave of air strikes against Iranian targets in response to a series of attacks attributed to Tehran against commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
The conflict propelled crude prices to their highest levels in roughly a month, partially reversing a decline of approximately 30% recorded during the second quarter. Investors fear that any prolonged disruption to oil flows through the Persian Gulf could jeopardise one of the world’s principal arteries for energy trade.
The war in Eastern Europe is adding a further layer of pressure to the market. Ukrainian strikes on Russian fuel-production infrastructure and tanker trucks have intensified concerns about global supply at a moment when geopolitical risks are already running high.
“We are not only facing the risk of losing oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz, but we are also confronting disruptions to Russia’s production capacity and refining capacity,” said Jeff Currie, analyst at the Carlyle Group, quoted by Bloomberg. “The situation in the energy sector is quite serious,” he added.
On the political front, US President Donald Trump has vowed to intensify bombardments against Iran until Tehran halts attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and agrees to reopen the strategic waterway to oil and gas shipping.
The Wall Street Journal meanwhile reported that the US administration is weighing an expansion of military operations, potentially including action against Kharg Island, where Iran’s principal crude oil export terminal is located.
Signals of retreat from the Iranian side remain limited. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reiterated on Wednesday that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed for as long as the United States continues its military strikes and blockade of Iranian ports, raising the risk of a further escalation of the conflict and renewed volatility in international energy markets.
Analysts warn that any prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz — through which approximately one-fifth of the world’s consumed oil passes — could trigger a new surge in crude prices, with direct knock-on effects on global inflation, transport costs and economic growth.
Source: Expansão / Original article: expansao.co.ao
