Oil prices continued to climb rapidly on Friday following remarks by President Trump that there would be no deal to end the war with Iran short of an “unconditional surrender.”
Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, rose above $90 a barrel on Friday morning, up 6 percent from the prior day. Compared with the start of the year, Brent is up 52 percent. WTI futures, the U.S. oil price benchmark, jumped by around nine percent to above $88. Year-to-date, prices are up by around 54 percent.
The U.S. war with Iran has disrupted global oil supplies as ships have been unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz all week. Around 20 percent of the world’s oil supply typically must pass through that Persian Gulf bottleneck.
Kuwait has begun cutting production at some oil fields as its storage facilities have neared maximum capacity, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. That threatens a supply squeeze in the future, perhaps even after the strait is reopened.
Gasoline prices have been rising sharply. Compared with a month ago, the national average price for a gallon of gasoline is up 13 percent to $3.32.
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