Brent gains as supply concerns keep the market on edge

The front-month ICE Brent contract has risen by $0.75/bbl on the day from Friday, to trade at $114.48/bbl at 09.00 GMT.

IMAGE: Getty Images

Upward pressure:

Brent crude’s price has extended gains as mounting concerns over supply disruptions in the Middle East have kept the market on edge.

Market participants are growing increasingly concerned about the risk of a fresh escalation in tensions between the US and Iran as Washington prepares for the mid-term elections on 3 November.

“Reports suggest President Trump is considering fresh strikes on Iran, while the US is reinforcing its military presence in the region with the deployment of a second aircraft carrier,” two analysts from ING Bank noted.

Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Aramco has urged its staff to evacuate its headquarters in Dhahran, as the conflict between Riyadh and Yemen-based Houthi militant group intensified last week.

Downward pressure:

Brent’s gains have been capped by some hopes of easing hostilities in the Middle East.

Qatari mediators travelled to Tehran yesterday in an effort to de-escalate tensions between the US and Iran, Reuters reported, citing an official briefed on the situation.

Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are also set to meet leaders in Tehran today, according to Reuters.

By Aparupa Mazumder

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