Oil prices approach $100 per barrel as U.S. and Iran exchange strikes on Middle East shipping vessels
Oil prices reached near six-week highs on Monday, with Brent crude futures trading at over $97 per barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude hovering above $92 per barrel. These gains occurred as the U.S. and Iran resumed tit-for-tat strikes on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and other regions.
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On Saturday, U.S. forces struck three Iranian oil tankers, including one off the coast of Kharg Island. This action followed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeting three oil tankers traveling through unauthorized routes in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as three U.S.-linked vessels in other areas. In response to these escalations, Iran's Supreme National Security Council head Mohsen Rezaei announced that a new exclusion zone will be established outside the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days. Any ship identified within this zone that intends to pass through the Strait of Hormuz will be placed on Iran's sanctions list. Goldman Sachs analysts suggest that oil prices could rally to as much as $120 per barrel if shipping attacks continue to intensify.