Crude Oil Soars As Iran Intensifies Attacks On Production Facilities

(RTTNews) – Recovering from yesterday’s slump, crude oil surged on Tuesday as Iran stepped up its attack on energy infrastructure in the Middle East in its war against the U.S.-Israel combined forces.

WTI Crude Oil for April delivery was last seen trading up by $2.57 (or 2.75%) at $96.07 per barrel.

The U.S.-Israel versus Iran conflict entered day number eighteen today.

The Strait of Hormuz, which is a critical waterway through which oil exports from the Arab countries transit to other nations, has been largely blocked since the beginning of this war.

With oil flow out of the gulf blocked, Arab nations are facing huge storage constraints, compelling them to halt production.

According to the International Energy Agency’s monthly report, published last week, more than 10 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil has been hit since the slashing of production.

Iraq’s Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani stated today that his government is in talks with Iran to persuade them to allow a few oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

GasBuddy data showed that diesel prices in the U.S. exceeded $5 per gallon while gasoline went up to $3.68 per gallon on an average, stinging consumers heavily.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s call to NATO allies to join the U.S. in its efforts to secure the Strait of Hormuz had no takers.

Frustrated Trump berated NATO, stating that the allies benefitted from “tens of billions of dollars” from the U.S. but now are not reciprocating.

Meanwhile, the director of U.S. National Counterterrorism Centre Joe Kent resigned his post. In a social media post, Kent wrote that he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration’s war in Iran as he claims the war initiated by the U.S. under Israel’s pressure. Trump stated that resignation of Kent is a “good thing”.

The war shows no visible signs of de-escalation. An Iranian drone attack on Shah Gas Field in the United Arab Emirates started a huge fire, leading to the suspension of operations. The facility accounts for around 20% of the U.A.E.’s total gas supply.

Analysts are concerned as Iran shifts its target to oil and gas production facilities from refineries, terminals, and storage locations.

Earlier, Majnoon in Iraq and Fujairah in the UAE were severely struck by Iran. Fujairah produces more than 1 million barrels of oil per day under normal circumstances.

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that in an overnight strike by the Israeli forces, Iran’s Security Chief Ali Larijani had been killed along with Basij Commander Gholamreza Soleimani. Iran has so far not confirmed Israel’s claim.

The International Energy Agency has announced the release of 411.90 million barrels of oil from the strategic reserves of its member nations to stabilize global oil price.

With price normalization expected to take more time, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol stated that it may release additional oil to the global markets if necessary.

The IEA countries (with 32 governments in its coalition) hold above 1.2 billion barrels in their strategic capacity along with 600 million barrels in their industrial reserves.

The U.S. Federal Reserve’s March month’s meeting kicked off today and is set to conclude tomorrow.

The central bank keeping the interest rates unchanged appears to be a foregone conclusion and currently the focus of economists has shifted to the release of Federal Open Market Committee’s Summary of Economic Projections (termed “dot plot”) to comprehend the Fed’s analysis of current economic situation and to decipher clues on its interest rate decisions for 2026.

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