Oil prices rise on Biden’s Israel-Iran strike remark
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The news: Oil rose overnight after comments from US President Joe Biden fuelled speculation about potential Israeli strikes on Iran’s oil infrastructure in retaliation for missile attacks.
The numbers: West Texas Intermediate jumped as much as 5.5% to USD74 per barrel, The Financial Times reported. Brent crude, the international benchmark, at one point also rose as much as 5% to USD77.65 per barrel.
Iran exports between 1.6 million and 1.8 million barrels of oil per day, mostly to China, according to Energy Aspects, although OPEC+ producers currently have spare capacity that could temporarily mitigate supply issues.
The context: Asked if he supported Israel striking Iran’s oil facilities, Biden responded: “We’re in discussion of that. I think — I think that would be a little — anyway.”
Israeli officials are weighing various options for retaliation, including missile launcher or oil facility strikes, the FT reported.
On Wednesday, Biden said Israel had the right to respond proportionally to Iran’s recent, thwarted missile attacks, while specifying that he would not support striking Iran’s nuclear sites. The FT quoted a source on Thursday (Friday AEST), saying such an option is not currently being considered.
What they said: The global oil market could be sent “spiralling higher” if Israel were to strike Iranian refineries or if Tehran responded by attacking other oil fields and refineries in the region, Amrita Sen, a researcher at Energy Aspects told said.
The sources: White House transcript , The Financial Times
