Donald Trump has told oil company executives that the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz could “continue for months”, raising fears that global reserves could fall below critical levels.
It has been warned that the oil market is just four weeks away from a “tipping point” that could drive prices up significantly.
Donald Trump has told oil company executives that the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz could “continue for months”, raising fears that global reserves could fall below critical levels.
Analysts fear that stocks of crude oil, gasoline, diesel and jet fuel could reach critically low levels by the end of the month, at which point prices will soar.
Frederic Lasserre, head of research at Gunvor, one of the world’s oil traders, told the Financial times: “We don’t have months. It goes beyond gasoline at the pumps, to the closure of the industry and we enter a recession.
“The turning point is clearly June. This is the point where something has to give.”
Amrita Sen, founder of consultancy Energy Aspects, told the Financial Times that if the war continued until the end of June all stocks would be depleted.
“As far as the price of oil goes, you can basically pick a number. We just won’t have reserves.
The price of a barrel of oil reached $126 this week, but there have been warnings that it could rise to $150-200 if the conflict continues.
The dire warnings come as Israel continues airstrikes in southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire between it and Hezbollah.
Authorities said at least seven people were killed and others injured yesterday. The Israeli military issued a new warning for residents of nine southern villages to evacuate.
Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have maintained their attacks despite a ceasefire in place since April 17.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that an airstrike on a car in the village of Kfar Dajal killed two people, while another hit a house in the village of Lwaizeh, killing three. Two other people were killed in an attack on Shoukin village, he added.
Israel’s Arabic-language military spokesperson, Lt. Col. Ella Waweya, posted on
Hezbollah said it attacked Israeli troops who gathered inside a house in the coastal town of Bayed on Saturday with a drone.
Over the past few weeks, the Israeli army has been razing neighborhoods in cities and towns near the Lebanon-Israel border. The military says it is destroying buildings that were used as outposts by the Iran-backed group.
The Israeli military released new video that it said shows the explosion of Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon. The video, released on Friday, shows soldiers holding an Israeli flag and walking through the destruction of a soccer stadium in the Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil. The military said on its website that the air force “destroyed the city’s stadium after it was discovered to be booby-trapped.”
Lebanon and Israel have held their first direct talks in more than three decades. The two countries have been formally in a state of war since the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. A 10-day ceasefire declared in Washington came into effect on April 17. The ceasefire was later extended for three weeks.
