Crude oil prices surged on Saturday as a US-Iran peace agreement hangs in the balance after Israel refused to comply with the ceasefire terms. Brent Crude, the international benchmark, rose 0.65 per cent from Friday’s close after fluctuating earlier in the day, as investors adopted a cautious approach.
Brent futures for August delivery were trading at $80.37 as of 06:30 GMT, crossing the $80 threshold for the first time since Wednesday. The uptick followed an earlier slide triggered by an increase in commercial vessels carrying energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
The price rise comes a day after Israel launched fresh attacks on Lebanon, killing around two dozen people since Friday morning. Hezbollah ambushes on Israeli troops also resulted in the killing of four soldiers, sources confirmed on Saturday.
The wave of attacks, which defy the US-Iran peace memorandum, has triggered fresh uncertainty in oil-dependent economies.
Asian markets dropped nearly 2.5 per cent shortly after opening, later recovered some losses, and were trading 0.8 per cent higher.
While commercial shipping has resumed in a routine manner, with Saudi Arabia’s super oil tankers carrying around 6 million barrels of crude exiting the Strait of Hormuz, traffic in the critical waterway remains only a fraction of pre-escalation levels. Hong Kong-flagged oil tanker Tong Lin Wan and the France-flagged LNG tanker Mraikh also passed through the waterway on Thursday, according to ship tracking data.
However, more than 500 vessels are still waiting to exit the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles nearly one-fifth of global oil supply.
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