JPMorgan sees oil at US$150 per barrel if Strait of Hormuz remains closed for another month

People queue to receive liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders from a Bharat Petroleum Corporation gas agency office in Hyderabad on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. Oil prices sank, and most stocks rose on March 31, following a Wall Street Journal report that indicated Donald Trump was willing to end the Iran war even if the key Strait of Hormuz remained closed. -- Photo by Noah SEELAM / AFP

MOSCOW, March 31 (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti): Oil prices could rise to US$150 per barrel if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for another month, Bruce Kasman, chief economist at the American bank JPMorgan, believes.

"A scenario in which the strait remains closed for an additional month would be consistent with oil prices rising towards US$150 a barrel and constraints on industrial consumers of energy supply," Kasman said, as quoted by the British newspaper The Times.

On February 28, the US and Israel began striking targets in Iran, including Tehran, causing damage and civilian casualties. Iran is carrying out retaliatory strikes on Israeli territory, as well as on US military targets in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz - a key route for supplying oil and liquefied natural gas from the Persian Gulf countries to global markets - has effectively ground to a halt. As a result, fuel prices are rising in most countries around the world.

--BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI