Brent crude surpasses $85/bbl
The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained by $1.68/bbl on the day, to trade at $85.19/bbl at 09.00 GMT.
IMAGE: Getty Images
Upward pressure:
The US and Israel’s large-scale military actions on Iran has continued to dominate oil market sentiment this week.
In the latest round of cross-border firing, the Israeli military has launched air strikes on Hezbollah-administered areas in Lebanon, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, Iran said it targeted Tel Aviv with several missiles, the report added.
Earlier this week, a commercial ship anchored at 30 nautical miles (NM) south-east of the port of Mubarak Al Kabeer in Kuwait, reported a strike resulting in oil leakage from a cargo tank, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.
“Oil is not just a commodity. It is a confidence asset. And confidence begins to fracture the moment traders see tankers themselves becoming targets,” SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said.
Downward pressure:
The US Department of Treasury (DoT) has issued a 30-day waiver allowing India to resume some purchase of Russian crude oil amid the ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran.
This news has added some downward pressure on Brent today, according to two analysts from ING Bank.
The measure only allows transactions involving oil already stranded at sea, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said.
“The waiver allows the sale of Russian crude and products to India that were loaded onto vessels before 5 March and remains valid until 4 April,” ING Bank’s analysts said. “This essentially allows floating Russian oil to reach India,” they added.
By Aparupa Mazumder
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