Oil prices climbed about 5 per cent yesterday after US President Donald Trump said he did not want to extend a soon-to-expire ceasefire in the Iran war and that the US military was “raring to go” if negotiations do not succeed.
Brent futures rose $4.30, or 4.5pc, to $99.78 a barrel yesterday evening, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $4.75, or 5.3pc, to $94.36.
Pakistan said there was still no confirmation that Iran would attend last-ditch peace talks with the United States, after US forces boarded a huge Iranian oil tanker at sea with just a day left to the ceasefire.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which normally handles about 20pc of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies, remained broadly halted yesterday with only three ships passing the waterway in the past 24 hours, shipping data showed.
The European Union will provide guidance to airlines on how to handle issues such as airport slots, passenger rights and public service obligations in the event of jet fuel shortages because of the Iran war, the bloc’s transport chief said. German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said supplies of jet fuel are not in danger as refineries adapt to increased demand.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, however, said the Druzhba oil pipeline pumping Russian oil to Europe is ready to resume operations, signalling that Ukraine now expects a 90 billion euro aid package to be unblocked. But three industry sources said Russia is set to stop oil exports from Kazakhstan to Germany via the Druzhba pipeline starting from May 1.
Analysts projected that energy firms pulled 1.8 million barrels of crude from storage during the week ended April 17. If correct, that would be the first time energy firms pulled crude out of storage for two weeks in a row since February, and compares with an increase of 0.2m barrels in the same week last year and a decline of 3.7m barrels over the past five years (2021-2025).
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