Escalating military aggression in Middle East continues to wipe 20m barrels from market each day
Global oil prices surged past $100 (£74, AU$142) a barrel mark for the first time since 2022 as escalating military aggression in the Middle East continues to wipe 20m barrels of oil from the market each day.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, jumped 16.6% to $108.10 a barrel as the new week’s trading began in the Asia Pacific markets, the first time that market prices have soared above this key psychological threshold since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark price of US crude also soared, rising 19.6% to $108.72 per barrel. Pre-market trading data put Wall Street on course to open lower on Monday.
Oil prices rose after a weekend of escalating conflict in the Middle East, during which Kuwait’s national oil company announced a “precautionary” cut to its crude oil production.
