Mumbai, 23 April. Crude oil continues to rise amid uncertainty over the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and prices again crossed $ 100 per barrel on Thursday. Brent’s June futures contract on the Intercontinental Exchange was trading at $103.35 a barrel in morning trade, about 4 percent higher than its previous close. At the same time, the June futures contract of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange increased by 1.62 percent to $ 94.47 per barrel. The increase in the price of crude oil is being attributed to uncertainty over the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. Although US President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire until Iranian leaders made a “unified resolution”, he did not lift the naval blockade on Iran.
“As part of the US blockade against Iran, the US military has directed 31 ships to turn around or return to port,” US Central Command said on social media. At the same time, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf said that in the current situation the Strait of Hormuz will not be reopened. He said that the Strait of Hormuz has been blocked by America. This is a violation of ceasefire. Due to this, Iranian ports are being targeted.
Further said that complete ceasefire is possible only when America ends the blockade of Hormuz Strait. The Strait of Hormuz has been closed for more than 50 days, disrupting about a fifth of global oil and gas supplies, analysts say. A sustained rise in prices could impact India’s import bill and put pressure on its economy. The government says retail fuel outlets across the country are functioning normally.
Comments are closed.