Brent Crude Heads for Record Month on Middle East Crisis 

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja 

Stock markets slid in Asia yesterday as investors dug in for a protracted Gulf conflict that already has oil prices heading for a record monthly rise, bringing a spike in inflation and the risk of recession to much of the globe.

This is coming as Pakistan said it was preparing to host “meaningful talks” to end the conflict over Iran in ‌coming days, even though Tehran accused Washington of preparing a land assault as the US military builds up forces in the region.

To compound the impact of the Middle East crisis, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis also launched their first attacks on Israel since the start of the conflict.

The clampdown on the strait has sent prices of oil, gas, fertiliser, plastic and aluminium surging, along with fuel for planes and shipping. Prices of food, pharmaceuticals and petrochemical products are all set to rise, a Reuters report said.

Brent crude rose 2.0 per cent to $114.90 a barrel yesterday, bringing its gains for the month to almost 59 per cent and outpacing the jump that followed Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990. US crude climbed 1.8 per cent to $101.39, making a monthly rise of 51 per cent.

“The longer the Strait remains closed, the sharper the drawdown in buffer supplies that could spark dramatic increases in the price of crude oil, natural gas and other commodities,” warned Bruce Kasman, global ‌head of ⁠economics at JPMorgan. A scenario in which the Strait remains closed for an additional month would be consistent with oil prices rising towards $150/bbl and constraints on industrial consumers of energy supply,” Kasman added.