Oil prices climbed beyond $100 early today as tensions between the United States and Iran intensified following further strikes on Iranian petroleum ships and U.S. military in Jordan.
AFP said the latest escalation followed U.S. forces destroying five additional Iranian crude oil tankers as Iran threatened U.S. personnel in Jordan.
The attacks came after a spate of strikes that began over the weekend when U.S. forces attacked three other oil tankers following an attack by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on two U.S. warships.
Oil prices trimmed some of their session highs but remained sharply higher.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was trading at $95.73 a barrel and Brent crude at $100.77 as of press time.
Late yesterday, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that American troops destroyed five Iranian crude oil ships, in what it called a retaliatory strike against an IRGC attack with ballistic missiles on a U.S. Navy cruiser.
Four of the vessels, M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco, were destroyed in the Gulf of Oman, CENTCOM said.
This comes as Nigeria’s gasoline costs keep on rising with individuals and companies feeling the pinch of high petrol and diesel prices.
While a litre of PMS presently sells for between N1,300 and N1,400, diesel has also exceeded N2,000 per litre.
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