Oil prices rise amid Iran conflict, monthly gains set to be record-breaking

Oil prices continued to rise today, and gains for the month as a whole are likely to be record-breaking. The sharp rise in prices was triggered by the war in the Middle East, particularly the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude is up a record roughly 63 percent for the month as a whole. US WTI crude has gained 54 percent, its biggest increase since May 2020, according to LSEG data dating back to June 1988.

At around 16:55 CEST, the price of North Sea Brent crude was up 5.7 percent at 119.19 dollars a barrel. US light crude WTI was up 1.4 percent at the same time, trading at 104.37 dollars a barrel.

Oil prices have risen steadily over the past four weeks as the war waged by the US and Israel against Iran has intensified and attacks on energy infrastructure across the region have increased. The attacks have resulted in the worst disruption to oil and gas supplies in history.

Prices have fluctuated sharply during this period, however. Each time US President Donald Trump suggested that the military operation could end soon, prices plunged, only to rise again because of supply disruptions caused by Iranian threats to vessels passing through the crucial Strait of Hormuz. About a fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies are transported through it.

The May Brent futures contract expires today, and liquidity has also fallen as investors roll over their positions ahead of its expiry. Trading volumes in May futures are therefore roughly 18 times lower than those in the more actively traded June contracts. Trading today has consequently been volatile, with the price of the nearest Brent contracts ranging from a gain of 4.8 percent to a decline of 1.3 percent, Reuters reported.

Oil prices in dollars per barrel (about 159 litres)