The price of a barrel of crude oil rose to its highest level since 2022 on Thursday. Over the past 24 hours, the price has risen to just over $126 per barrel. In comparison, the price was around $70 per barrel two months ago - before the US attacked Iran. That is an increase of 80 percent.
Several international media outlets have reported that the price of oil has risen again following fresh reports of the war in Iran. BBC writes that the US military will soon brief US President Donald Trump on new plans for potential actions in connection with the war.
The media refers to an article from Axios, which describes that the US has drawn up a plan for a wave of "short and powerful" attacks on Iran in an attempt to break the deadlock in negotiations between the parties.
Analyst closed Strait of Hormuz pushes up the price
According to Jens Nærvig Pedersen, a commodities analyst at Danske Bank, the price is rising primarily because the Strait of Hormuz is still closed.
- There is almost no oil flowing through. And when you look at the reports from the US and Iran, it does not indicate that an agreement is just around the corner. Potentially, an agreement would lift the US blockade of Iranian ports and Iran's blockade of the strait.
The location of the strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman makes it an important trade hub. About 20 percent of the world's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz.
When the supply of, for example, oil falls, but demand remains intact, it can cause the price to rise.
Over the past two months, the price of oil has jumped and danced, as various reports have come from Iran and the US. Reports of a ceasefire have calmed things down and caused the price to fall, but this has usually been followed by outbursts from US President Donald Trump, and this has several times had the opposite effect.
The oil market is increasingly concerned about when oil will start flowing through the strait again, says Jens Nærvig Pedersen. Although the price is now at its highest level since 2022, when energy prices skyrocketed in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he is surprised that the oil price has not risen even more.
- At the beginning of March, I expected the oil price to be significantly higher than it has been. But it could indicate that this reality is starting to show in the market now, he says.
/ritzau/
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