Crude oil surpasses $100 as US-Iran hostilities escalate

Oil prices surged to the $100 mark early Wednesday as tensions between the United States and Iran escalated following fresh attacks on Iranian crude carriers and U.S. forces in Jordan.

The latest escalation came after U.S. forces destroyed five more Iranian crude oil tankers, while Iran targeted U.S. forces in Jordan.

The attacks followed a series of strikes that began over the weekend, when U.S. forces hit three other oil tankers after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted two U.S. warships.

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Oil prices subsequently eased slightly from their session highs but remained significantly elevated.

As of press time, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was trading at $95.73 a barrel, while Brent crude stood at $100.77.

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said late Tuesday that American forces had destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers, describing the action as a response to an IRGC attack on a U.S. Navy warship using ballistic missiles.

According to CENTCOM, four of the vessels — M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco — were destroyed in the Gulf of Oman.

This is coming amidst escalating fuel prices in Nigeria as consumers and businesses reel from the impact of elevated petrol and diesel prices.

A litre of PMS is sold currently at N1300 to N1,400 while diesel has also hit N2000 per litre.