Oil surged past $145 per barrel for the first time on Thursday as the weak United States dollar and Middle East tension stoked black gold’s record-breaking run, analysts said.
Brent North Sea crude for August delivery climbed $1,01 to $145,27 a barrel from its record close of $144,26 in London on Wednesday, after breaking $144 dollars for the first time.
New York’s benchmark contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, hit an intra-day record price of $144,57. By afternoon, the contract was 66 cents higher at $144,23 against a record close of $143,57 in the US on Wednesday.
The latest surge followed a warning from Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari that his country, a key crude producer, would react fiercely to any attack against it.
“Iran, if there were any kind of activity of any sort, is not going to be quiet and would react fiercely,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the World Petroleum Congress in Madrid.
He said oil prices, which have been driven to record levels partly because of fears about the loss of Iran’s oil output, would rise radically if Israel or the UUS launched a military strike.
“That’s the kind of talk that kind of juices the market,” said Jason Feer, vice-president and general manager, Asia Pacific, for energy market analysts Argus Media in Singapore.
Western powers and Iran have been engaged in long-running efforts to resolve a stalemate over Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme, which the West fears could be used to make an atomic bomb.
Iran, the world’s fourth largest oil producer, says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.
The Iranian tensions, along with unrest that has cut output in key African producer Nigeria, and the weaker US currency were among factors combining to push prices higher, Feer said.
“It’s the ongoing perfect storm, basically,” he said. — AFP