Brent Crude Rises Further
Brent crude oil futures soared 6% to $108 per barrel on Thursday, the highest in nearly four years, regaining traction on a volatile session as markets reconsidered the magnitude of supply risks from the ongoing war in the Persian Gulf. US President Trump pledged to escalate attacks on Iran and their infrastructure in the next weeks if Tehran does not accept American ceasefire conditions, prompting Tehran to retaliate the aggressive rhetoric. Oil and product prices had eased on reports that Oman and Iran were coordinating a toll for tankers crossing the Hormuz chokepoint, but optimism over the outlook of normalized supplies was short-lived and energy benchmarks rebounded. Consequently, dated Brent benchmarks rose to past $140 per barrel, the highest since 2008. Meanwhile, the UK is hosting talks with dozens of countries on securing the route, while OPEC+ is considering a potential output increase, though any additional supply is unlikely to impact markets in the near term.