U.S. weighs releasing sanctioned Iranian crude
Oil prices rose as much as 3 percent on Thursday after Iran attacked several energy facilities in the Middle East following the attack on the South Pars gas field.
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US oil prices continued their decline after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington may soon lift sanctions on Iranian crude stored on tankers, aiming to ease price pressure after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz.
International benchmark Brent crude oil lost 2% to $106 per barrel. US oil prices fell 1.56% to $94.64 per barrel.
“In the coming days, we may decertify approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian oil at sea.” Bessent told Fox Business Network:.
He said bringing sanctioned Iranian crude back to global markets would help contain prices in the next 10 to 14 days.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also told reporters that Israel was assisting US efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to telegraph reports. He added that Iran no longer has the capacity to enrich uranium or produce ballistic missiles and that the war may end sooner than many expect.
Citi said the conflict in Iran has caused a sharp rise in oil and related commodities, leading to an upgrade in the short-term price outlook.
The bank now expects Brent and WTI to rise to $120 per barrel in the next one to three months, and to $150 per barrel in a bull scenario if disruptions intensify.
Still, the base case assumes tensions will ease in four to six weeks, which will allow Brent to return to $70-80 by the end of the year.
At the same time, underlying crude oil spreads widened sharply as Citi raised its Brent-WTI forecasts to reflect rising freight costs and strong demand for domestic barrels on the US Gulf Coast.
Saudi oil officials await crude oil prices Could rise above $180 per barrel According to the Wall Street Journal, if the disruptions in the Iran war continue until the end of April.
