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Middle East Fears Drive Brent Near $90/bbl Friday

OIL

Fears around further escalations in the Middle East are driving crude markets Friday. They are now pricing well above the war premium at the start of the week, driven by the initial market response to the attacks in Israel at the weekend.

  • The weekend attacks risk retaliation towards Iranian oil infrastructure as well as the potential for US sanctions against it to be further tightened.
  • Headlines on Wednesday suggested Iran was unaware of the attacks, prompting a sell off which has since reversed as Israeli retaliation intensifies.
  • There are no indications that other leading oil producing nations will become involved in the conflict.
  • A further backdrop of tightness has been added to markets this week as the US sanctioned two Russian tankers involved in transporting Russian oil above the G7 $60/bbl cap. The sanctions, announced Thursday, so far seem limited but open the possibility to more occurring in the future.
  • Brent is also nearing the phycological barrier of $90/bbl Friday.
  • Brent DEC 23 up 4.4% at 89.75$/bbl
  • WTI NOV 23 up 4.6% at 86.73$/bbl

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