Brent crude for May delivery opened sharply higher again today, rising more than 4% and approaching $105 per barrel.
At 07:00 local time (06:00 Lisbon), Brent was up 4.53% at $104.95, according to Bloomberg data analysed by EFE. On Monday, the sharp rise in crude prices due to Middle East tensions eased and Brent closed down 2.84%, slightly above $100 ($100.21). West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 5.04% to $97.90 before the official opening of the US market.
Crude prices resumed their climb, driven by tensions from the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz blockade. US president Donald Trump on Monday criticised the lack of enthusiasm with which his allies — particularly European nations — responded to his proposal to form a military coalition to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
Read more about this topic: Iran War: Trump urges NATO and China to help reopen Strait of Hormuz (with video)
“Some are very enthusiastic, others not, and some are countries we have been helping for many years. We have protected them from terrible external sources, and they are not so enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm is important to me,” he said.
The International Energy Agency said on Monday it is prepared to release further strategic oil reserves if necessary, following last Wednesday’s announcement of a 400 million barrel release to mitigate the impact of the Iran war.
The United States and Israel launched a military strike against Iran on February 28, killing ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz and launched retaliatory strikes against targets in Israel, US military bases and infrastructure across the region, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan, Oman and Iraq, with Iranian projectile incidents also recorded in Cyprus and Turkey.
