NEW YORK: Oil prices settled mixed on Tuesday, with Brent down on worries that high energy prices could slow economic growth, while US crude closed at its highest since 2022 ahead of US President Donald Trump's deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent futures fell 50 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at US$109.27 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 54 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at US$112.95, well off its session high when it was up by over US$5 a barrel.
Typically WTI trades at a discount to Brent, but this has reversed in a market where barrels for earlier delivery command a higher price. The benchmark WTI contract is for May delivery while Brent is for June.
WTI closed at its highest since June 2022 for a fourth day in a row. In March, when the Brent front-month was for delivery in May, Brent also closed at its highest since June 2022.
US crude's gains came "as the market leans further into a prolonged disruption scenario rather than a near-term resolution," analysts at energy consulting firm Gelber & Associates said.
For the second straight day, the WTI front-month contract finished with a record-high premium over the second-month contract
"Time spreads have continued to widen, signaling that the tightness is most acute in the prompt market as refiners compete for immediately available barrels," Gelber said.
As the US-Israeli war on Iran squeezes global supplies, European and Asian refiners are paying record-high prices of near US$150 a barrel for some crude oil grades, far exceeding prices for paper futures.
Trump threatened that "a whole civilization will die tonight" as Iran showed no sign of accepting his ultimatum to open the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday evening. The strait handles about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows.
Trump has given Iran until 8 p.m. in Washington, 3:30 a.m. in Tehran, to end its blockade of Gulf oil or see the US destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran. Iran has said it would retaliate against US allies in the Gulf.
Talks between the US and Iran were at risk of being derailed following Tehran's attacks on Saudi Arabian industrial facilities, two Pakistani sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters on Tuesday.
As Trump's deadline approached, strikes on Iran intensified throughout the day, hitting railway and road bridges, an airport and a petrochemical plant and knocking out power lines, according to Iranian media.
Explosions were reported on Kharg Island, home to Iran's oil export terminal, which Trump has openly mused about destroying or seizing.
World Bank President Ajay Banga said the Iran war would result in some degree of slower growth in the global economy and higher inflation, regardless of how quickly it ended.
Chicago Federal Reserve Bank president Austan Goolsbee said he was worried the war would drive inflation higher while also slowing the economy, putting the Fed in a situation where there's no obvious "cookbook" for what to do.
Disrupted exports from Gulf oil producers have sent oil prices soaring. This has meant a financial windfall for those still able to export – Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia – while other states have lost billions of dollars, a Reuters analysis found.
The leaders of the International Energy Agency, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank will discuss the energy crisis triggered by the Iran war next Monday, IEA executive director Fatih Birol said.
China and Russia vetoed a United Nations resolution encouraging states to coordinate efforts to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and the US ambassador to the world body called on "responsible nations" to join in securing the vital waterway.
Crude exports from Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Yanbu fell by about 15% week-on-week to average nearly 3.9 million barrels per day in the week beginning March 30, shipping data from LSEG and Kpler showed.
In the US, energy traders waited for direction from weekly storage reports from the American Petroleum Institute trade group later on Tuesday and the US Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.
Analysts projected energy firms added 0.7 million barrels of crude into storage during the week ended April 3. — Reuters
