More Stories

Informist, Monday, Jun. 23, 2025

 

--Brent crude oil Aug futures hit 5-month high of $81.39 per barrel 

--Brent crude oil futures surge after US hits key Iran nuclear sites 

 

MUMBAI – Crude oil futures surged to a five-month high on Monday as the US hit key nuclear sites in Iran over the weekend, raising concerns around worries. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump announced that US forces had struck three Iranian nuclear sites in a "very successful attack", adding that the heavily fortified Fordow nuclear facility was "gone", Al Jazeera reported. Trump's decision to join Israel's military campaign against Iran represents a major escalation in the conflict.

 

At 0852 IST, the August Brent Crude contract was up 1.55% at $78.20 a barrel, after hitting a high of $81.39, while the most-active August West Texas Intermediate crude contract was up 1.6% at $75.03 a barrel after hitting a high of $78.40. The prices of both hit their highest since late January.

 

The world is now bracing for Iran's response after the US attack marked the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution, Reuters reported. Iran vowed to defend itself a day after the US dropped 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs on the mountain above Iran's Fordow nuclear site.

 

"With the US becoming involved, the risk of Iran retaliating by disrupting the flows of oil from the Middle East (West Asia) has risen significantly," Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, said. This could be via attacks on US facilities across the region or disruption of oil and gas flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Yemen's Houthi rebel group has also issued fresh threats against American ships in the Red Sea.

 

Iran is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries's third-largest crude producer. Market participants expect further price gains amid mounting fears that the retaliation by Iran may include closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global crude supply flows, Reuters reported. On Sunday, Iran's Press TV reported that the Iranian parliament had approved a measure to close the strait. Iran has in the past threatened to close the strait but has never followed through on the move, it said.

 

"The risks of damage to oil infrastructure ... have multiplied," Reuters quoted Sparta Commodities senior analyst June Goh as saying. Although there are alternative pipeline routes out of the region, there will still be crude volumes that cannot be fully exported if the Strait of Hormuz becomes inaccessible, and shippers will increasingly stay out of the region, she added.

 

Goldman Sachs flagged risks to global energy supply amid concerns about potential disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, which would lead to significant spikes in oil and natural gas prices, Reuters cited the bank as saying in a note. The bank estimated Brent Crude could briefly peak at $110 per barrel if oil flows through the critical waterway were halved for a month and remained down 10% for the next 11 months. Prices would then moderate, with Brent averaging around $95 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2025, the bank said.  End

 

US$1 = INR 86.59

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Reported by Shreya Shetty

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000 

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.