JAKARTA - Oil prices rose again in Asian trading as the market was still overshadowed by energy supply disruptions from the Middle East. The increase came as the attacks in the Persian Gulf continued to escalate, while US President Donald Trump signaled that US forces would soon withdraw from Iran.
Citing CNBC, Wednesday, April 1, Brent crude for June delivery rose 1.5 percent to $105.56 a barrel by 0950 ET. Throughout March, Brent prices jumped more than 60 percent, the strongest monthly gain since 1988. The May contract also closed about 5 percent higher on Tuesday at $118.35 a barrel.
U.S. crude for May delivery rose 1.5 percent to $102.92 a barrel. For the month of March, WTI surged about 51 percent, its best monthly performance since May 2020.
CNBC reported that the war that began on February 28 had triggered serious energy supply disruptions. Iran is said to have effectively stopped shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, an important route that before the war was used by about 20 percent of the world's oil flows.
Amid the situation, local Kuwaiti media citing civil aviation authorities reported that an Iranian drone hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport on Wednesday. The attack triggered a large fire and damaged the storage tank.
Trump on Tuesday night US time said American military forces were expected to leave Iran in "two or three weeks". At the White House, he said, "We're leaving because there's no reason for us to do this. We'll be leaving very soon".
Trump also dismissed the need for a negotiated deal to end the war. According to him, "Iran does not have to make a deal ... this is a new regime. They are much more accessible." He also claimed to have stopped Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Even so, the conflict has not subsided. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard stated that starting Wednesday it would attack US companies in the region, and named 18 names, including Google, Microsoft, Apple, Intel, IBM, Tesla, and Boeing.
Michael Feller, one of the founders of the Geopolitical Strategy think tank, as reported by CNBC, assessed that Trump's position was not easy. "Trump is still stuck. Coming out now means admitting defeat," he said. He added that the threat of destroying Iran's civilian infrastructure would not change the situation other than pushing oil prices higher.
From Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said messages with the US were indeed exchanged, both directly and through countries in the region. However, he stressed that it was not a negotiation. "It is not true that there are claims of negotiations with any party in Iran," he told Al Jazeera.
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