Oil prices plunge as fears of US military intervention in Iran ease
Oil prices are falling sharply today as fears of US military intervention against Iran ease. North Sea Brent crude was down 4.2 percent shortly after 14:00 CET, falling below 64 dollars a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down almost 4.4 percent, approaching 59 dollars a barrel.
Oil prices have been pushed higher in recent days by fears that possible US military intervention against Iran could disrupt Iranian oil supplies to the market. Iran has been rocked by demonstrations since late December, which Iranian forces have been harshly suppressing.
In recent days, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened Tehran with severe action if the regime kills protesters and executes detainees. On Wednesday evening, Trump said the killing of protesters in Iran had stopped and that no further executions were planned there.
"Although the situation remains fragile, the immediate risk premium in oil prices has fallen. It is unlikely to disappear, however, as the risk of supply disruptions persists," Ole Hansen, an analyst at Saxo Bank, said, according to Reuters.
Oil prices are also being pushed down by news of a surprise increase in US crude inventories. The US government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday that US oil inventories rose by 3.4 million to 422.4 million barrels last week. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a decline of 1.7 million barrels. Gasoline inventories rose by nine million to 251 million barrels, while analysts had estimated an increase of 3.6 million barrels.
Oil prices in dollars per barrel (about 159 litres):
| EXCHANGE | TYPE | CONTRACT | CURRENT PRICE | PREVIOUS CLOSE |
| London - ICE | Brent | March | 63,71 | 66,52 |
| New York - NYMEX | WTI | February | 59,32 | 62,02 |
Translation disclaimer
This article is a machine translation of the Czech original and has not yet been fully reviewed. In case of any doubt, please refer to the Czech version.
