SINGAPORE: Oil prices surged more than 25 percent on Monday to their highest levels since mid-2022 as some major producers cut supplies and fears of prolonged shipping disruptions gripped the market due to the expanding US-Israeli war with Iran.
Energy markets are particularly nervous because the crisis is unfolding around the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply normally passes.
Disruptions in tanker movements and rising security risks have already slowed shipping activity, leaving Asian buyers especially vulnerable given their heavy reliance on Middle Eastern crude.
Brent crude futures were up $24.96 or 27 percent at $117.65 per barrel at 07:51 a.m. Saudi time - on track for the biggest-ever jump in a single day, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up $25.72, or 28.3 percent, to $116.62.
WTI surged 31.4 percent to a session high of $119.48 a barrel earlier on Monday, while Brent rose as much as 29 percent to $119.50 a barrel. Before the surge on Monday, Brent had already climbed 27 percent and WTI by 35.6 percent last week.
