Khaberni - Oil prices are set to continue rising at the start of trading on Monday as the US-Israeli war on Iran enters its third week, with oil infrastructure at risk and the Strait of Hormuz remaining closed in the largest-ever disruption of global oil supplies.
The International Energy Agency said on Sunday that more than 400 million barrels of oil reserves will begin flowing into the market soon, in a record withdrawal aimed at countering the price rise resulting from the Middle East war.
The agency explained that stocks from Asia and Oceania will be released immediately, while stocks from Europe and the Americas will be available by the end of March.
Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate in the US have risen more than 40% since the beginning of the month, reaching their highest levels since 2022, after American-Israeli attacks on Iran led to a halt in maritime shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of global oil supplies pass.
US President Donald Trump urged allies to deploy warships to secure this strategic passage.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration plans to announce this week an agreement by several countries to form a coalition to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump threatened more strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island, a major oil exporting hub, prompting Tehran to show defiance by vowing to intensify its response to that.
The United States bombed military targets on Kharg Island on Saturday.
Iranian drones attacked a major oil station in Fujairah in the UAE shortly after the attacks on Kharg Island.
Natasha Kaneva, an analyst at J.P. Morgan, said, "This represents an escalation in the conflict."
J.P. Morgan analysts said that alongside the port of Fujairah in the UAE, the Saudi export station at Ras Tanura and the oil processing facilities in Abqaiq are among the sites most at risk in the Gulf region.
A sector source residing in Fujairah told Reuters on Sunday that oil loading operations had resumed at the port.
The port of Fujairah, located on the Gulf of Oman after passing the Strait of Hormuz, serves as an outlet for about one million barrels per day of Emirates Murban crude, a quantity that is about one percent of global demand.
The International Energy Agency expects that global oil supply will drop by eight million barrels per day in March due to the disruption of maritime shipping from the Gulf, and that Middle Eastern producing countries have reduced production by at least 10 million barrels per day.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Sunday he expects the war with Iran to end within "the next few weeks." He added that oil supplies would recover and energy prices would subsequently decrease.
