90.07 dollars on Monday morning in the Gulf
Brent crude traded at 90.07 dollars a barrel on Monday morning in the Gulf, up 2.24 per cent, and West Texas Intermediate at 85.02 dollars, up 1.94 per cent. The barrels on the screen come first.[1]
The move followed a weekend in which US forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran fired eight missiles at US bases in Jordan, all of them intercepted.[1]
Kharg's 7 million barrels a day is capacity
Kharg Island handles about 90 per cent of Iran's oil exports. Its loading capacity is 7 million barrels a day, and it has storage for 30 million barrels.[1]
Brent's 90.07 dollars after the Larak Island strikes sits on the same page as those Kharg Island figures. The reported physical numbers are a loading capacity of 7 million barrels a day and storage for 30 million barrels on an export route through the Strait of Hormuz; the weekend's named target was rocket launchers on Larak Island. A Hormuz route-risk premium is the tight reading of that pairing.[1]
Near 126 dollars in April, and Richards on sanctions
Brent peaked near 126 dollars in April before easing as diplomatic efforts reduced the fear of escalation. Daniel Richards, senior economist at Emirates NBD, said further US secondary sanctions on Iran are also expected, keeping geopolitical risk embedded in energy prices.[1]