Crude oil prices spiked sharply on Sunday evening after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, sending the brent crude oil price briefly above $82 a barrel. The move reflected growing middle east tensions oil market fears — particularly over access to the strait of Hormuz oil supply route, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s daily oil flows.
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Oil Prices Today As Strait Of Hormuz Risks Rise
Markets React Fast
Crude oil prices today opened around $72 for US crude and hit $82 for brent before pulling back below $78. The brent crude oil price had settled just above $73 on Friday, meaning the gap was steep — though analysts said the move was within the expected range for this scenario.
Tanker traffic through the strait of hormuz oil supply route dropped to just six vessels on Sunday, from 65 on Friday, according to S&P Global Energy. Videos verified by the New York Times showed a tanker ablaze near Oman.
Amy Myers Jaffe — Director, Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability Lab, NYU — stated:
“The biggest question is what, if any, oil installations get damaged. If the answer to that is none, my opinion is the price of oil will come back down.”
Gas Prices and the Wider Risk
The middle east tensions oil market fallout is already being felt at the pump. National gas prices average $2.98 a gallon, and Tom Kloza, veteran oil analyst and advisor to Gulf Oil, warned that could change fast.
Tom Kloza — Oil Analyst, Gulf Oil Advisor — stated:
“Clearly, there’s a whiff of panic there. They’re afraid that they’re going to get hit with massive price increases. It’s just, where do we stop? Prior to Friday night, I would have said that we would stop at $3.25. Now it’s kind of open ended.”
Jason Bordoff — Founding Director, Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University — stated:
“Americans will see some impact at the gasoline pump. But even with a massive strike on Iran that killed the leader of the country, at this point we’re still talking about oil prices that are well within historical norms — and much less than one would have ever expected with a strike of this magnitude.”
OPEC+ announced a modest output increase for April, but analysts don’t expect it to keep crude oil prices today in check if the conflict drags on.
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