A barrel of Brent oil is traded at $98.47 in international futures markets.
The forward barrel price of Brent oil, which rose to $98.06 yesterday, finished the day at $97. The November term barrel price of Brent oil increased by 1.5 percent compared to the closing date at 09.40 today, reaching 98.47 dollars. At the same time, the October delivery barrel price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil was determined as 93.87 dollars.
The increase in oil prices was due to the US-Iran tension increasing concerns about supply security in the Middle East and the slowdown in oil transportation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Mohsin Rezai, Secretary General of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, stated that they will create a “forbidden zone” in and around the Persian Gulf in response to the US blockade of Iran, and that Tehran’s “operational approach” towards US forces in the region has been radically changed.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ismail Bekayi also said that Iran and Oman are in the process of finalizing the agreement on determining a safe maritime route in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammed Baqir Qalibaf warned that if the USA targets Iranian oil tankers, they will target American oil and natural gas companies in the region.
In the markets, the possibility of prolonging conflicts and targeting the energy infrastructure as well as shipping in the region supports the prices by strengthening the concern that there may be larger disruptions in oil supply.
– Attacks in Saudi Arabia raise supply concerns
On the other hand, the Ministry of Energy of Saudi Arabia announced that some energy facilities in the south of the country were targeted and fires broke out in some areas.
According to reports in the international media, the re-targeting of Saudi Aramco’s facilities in Jizan also increases concerns about oil supply. Following the attack in July on the Jizan Refinery, which is located on the Red Sea coast close to the Yemen border and has a daily oil processing capacity of approximately 400 thousand barrels, oil shipments decreased significantly, and it is stated that there were no exports from the refinery in August.
Analysts began to revise their forecasts for oil prices upwards, predicting that the crisis in the Middle East could extend until 2027. A full return to pre-war oil shipment levels is not expected in markets until the late first quarter or early second quarter of 2027.
It is stated that technically $ 98.55 can be watched as resistance and $ 97.28 as support zone for Brent oil.
